


Killing Silence

by EuKnowWho



Category: Original Work
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Bad Puns, Blood and Torture, Character with depression, F/M, Gay Sex, Love at First Assassination Attempt, M/M, Magic, Multi, NaNoWriMo 2018, Ninjas - Freeform, One Pigeon, Romance, Shower Sex, Violence, idiot boys, mute character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-08-16 19:03:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 61,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EuKnowWho/pseuds/EuKnowWho
Summary: Five years ago, Alain killed his father, the Monster of New York. He has spent the next five years mute and silent, steadily going though the motions as his extended family carry him though their day.Everything changes one evening. Two strangers break into his livingroom and attempt to kill him and his cousins. Alain snaps into action and together with his cousins overpower their attackers. The attackers, Haruhi and Mitsuki Okabe, refuse to talk.Alain then displays the skills he had learned under the tutelage of the Monster. Haruhi breaks, unable to see his brother being tortured. Mitsuki Okabe, on the other hand, falls in love with the enigmatic and skillful Alain...This is not your ordinary love story. Amidst guns and knives, blood and elusive magic both light and dark, Alain and Mitsuki find something that they're missing in each other, and together, maybe they can finally put an end to the atrocities of the Monster.Also staring a pigeon.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! The first chapter of my Nanowrimo 18 project. It's wayyy earlier than expected and in its unbeta'd and unedited glory. 
> 
> I'm so sorry for your eyes.
> 
> I'll update tags as the story continues.
> 
> This chapter has warnings for: Magic, some guy losing his mind and screaming a lot, two idiot brothers, one idiot getting beat up.

Glenisle boys shouldn't go into the orchard by themselves.

 

Little Richard knew this and still stepped through the trees. He stepped past the line of shorter younger trees, his own one of them, and walking forwards, he came across his mother's tree. She was unmarked, no different from the other pear trees in the orchard, but he knew her with his entire being. He reached out and touched the warm bark and climbed into the branches. He sat and listened, enjoying the stillness of the orchard. There was the rustling of leaves, the soft whispering of the trees. He sat for a while, as comfortable in the branches as in his mother's arms. Then after a while, he slid down to the ground. He gave his mother's tree one last touch and went deeper into the orchard.

 

His mother's tree was old, almost as old as she was. He wanted to see the older trees.

 

Richard was only a few steps deeper into the orchard. He could still reach out and  touch his mother's tree, yet the mood of the trees changed when he stepped away from her protective canopy. It grew foreboding, as if the trees were inspecting him and found his presence an intrusion. There was almost a hint of outrage. 

 

He pressed on, one foot ahead of each other.

 

The trees will eat you, his older cousins said. They don't like little boys. They don't like boys at all.

 

Richard kept walking. He stepped across the leaf litter on the ground, his small feet crunching the dry leaves. He thought it was polite to announce his ingress like a good visitor. 

 

His grandmother's tree was not twenty steps away from his mother's. It was an older tree, of course, with a rougher bark. Beyond her was darkness as the older trees grew thick and crowded. He'd been at the centre of the orchard once. He had been with his mother, and she kept all fears at bay.

 

Richard placed his hand on his grandmother's tree, gently touching the rough wood.

 

"Hello, Grandmother." He leaned into kiss her trunk, a polite greeting as he had been taught. "Do you mind if I stay here a while?"

 

The trees do not talk as people do. Yet if someone were patient and attentive, they could discern the moods of the orchard. Richard thought it was foolish of his cousins to dare each other to spend the longest in the darkest woods. He thought it was foolish of them to run and to scream loud and shrill. You couldn't hear anything if you were yourself too loud. 

 

So Richard touched his face against her trunk and listened. He closed his eyes and felt a sort of acceptance from the tree under his skin. There was a curiosity in the air, an inquiring mind that wondered about this young visitor. 

 

Taking that as permission, he climbed into her branches and sat himself comfortably. As with his mother's tree, there was safety within the canopy. Here, he was sheltered from the orchard and the world outside. Ensconced comfortably, he closed his eyes and slept.

 

He dreamed that he was walking through the orchard, a tall lady beside him. Richard couldn't see her face but he knew that she looked like his mother. Richard knew it wasn't her though. "Hello, Grandmother," he said again. "Have you been well?" 

 

She chuckled. "So polite. I have been well. What do they call you, child?"

 

"I am Richard St. James, Grandmother."

 

"She gave you your father's name?" Grandmother sounded surprised. "He must be extraordinary."

 

Richard nodded. "He is. He is a great man. I think I must kill him when I grow big."

 

Grandmother did not appear shocked. "Such is the way of prominent Glenisle men. My brother killed his father. He is still alive, isn't he? My little Donovan."

 

Richard nodded again. "Uncle Donovan is a good teacher. He is very patient with my Latin."

 

Grandmother chuckled softly. "He was very patient with your mother as well."

 

They walked some more, skirting the edges of the circle of older trees, the skirts of her long dress dragging the fallen leaves behind her. They came to a stop in front of one, her branches gnarled and reaching, her bark dark. The boughs reached towards them in a grasping manner. The shadows created by creases in the bark made her look as if she were howling at them.

 

"This is my mother's tree."

 

"Hello, Great-Grandmother," said Richard. He bowed a little bow.

 

"Don't you fear her, child?"

 

Richard shook his head. "No, I don't fear anything here."

 

"How old are you, child?"

 

"I am almost ten, Grandmother."

 

"Look at me."

 

Richard looked up. He reached with his small hand and brushed the dirt from her fair brittle hair, dislodging flecks of dried blood. He smiled at her. "You're as beautiful as Mother says you are."

 

He took her hand. It felt very dry and thin. "Shall we continue, Grandmother?"

 

A moment's pause and they resumed their walk under the trees. 

 

"Why don't you fear the orchard, child?"

 

"Father has shown me worse things, Grandmother. This family can't hurt me."

 

"You are too young for this. You should stay with me here, be my little pet." Her hand tightened around his, pulling roughly at his arm.

 

Richard giggled, stumbling along. "You're silly, Grandmother." He steadied himself and kissed her hand. He beamed up at her. "I have cookies in my pocket. Would you like one?"

 

Grandmother sighed and let him go. "Your mind is very strong. A gift but sometimes a curse." She touched his head. It felt like dry twigs pulling at his hair. "Come back when you want. You will always be welcome at my tree." She looked up, smiling. "Here is your mother."

 

Richard woke up cradled in his mother's arms. She was warm, and her touch was safe. He yawned and snaked his arms around her neck, cuddling against her as she carried him out of the orchard.

 

"Did you enjoy visiting your grandmother?" She kissed his temple.

 

"Mmmm I wish I brought more treats. She didn't want my cookies."

 

"Darling, your cookies are crushed. There's nothing but crumbs in your pocket."

 

"Aww!"

 

"But your grandmother has also given you a gift. Check your jacket." 

 

He pulled his arms away from her neck and found a misshapen, roundish object in his jacket. He tugged it free and found that it was a pear. It was a little lumpy with brown skin and smelled sweet. 

 

"Is this for me?" He clutched the treasure with two hands. 

 

"It is. You impressed her."

 

"I was just myself."

 

"That was all that it took."

 

Richard considered the fruit very seriously. "Grandmother is very silly," he announced. "She produced her pear out of season. It's only spring."

 

"Indeed. Sometimes adults do very strange things. You should keep it safe. It is a rare and precious gift." She kissed him again. "Are you ready, my darling?"

 

Richard shook his head. "Not yet. I haven't learned what I need from him."

 

"Good. You must always know your strengths."

 

"Do you think he knows?"

 

Alice nuzzled his head. "Of course he doesn't. He would kill you if he knew."

 

"He is my father. I love him."

 

"Of course you do, and you should." 

 

Richard sighed. "I'm not ready, but I will be." He yawned again.

 

"I know. You are my only child. You won't disappoint me."

 

Richard smiled at those comforting words. He closed his eyes and laid his head on his mother's shoulder and fell to sleep.

 

*

 

Ten years later.

 

The sleek sports car screeched like a banshee and it raced down the leafy avenue. A dust cloud blew up behind it, kicked up by skidding wheels. The squeal of brakes rang sharply through the estate as the car pulled to a stop. 

 

Lights from Glenisle House turned on.

 

A figure spilled out from the driver's side. It was male, slim with long limbs. He stumbled out on shaky legs, then stood up and stared at the starry night sky. He looked down at his hands. He touched his face.

 

He started screaming. 

 

The front door to the great house opened and two figures ran out.

 

"Cousin? Cousin, what's wrong?"

 

"Who is it, Gilly?"

 

"I don't know. I can't tell."

 

He screamed and screamed, nothing in his manner indicating that he had heard them. 

 

"Cousin, cousin, please, let me help."

 

Gilberta Glenisle bent over the figure that had collapsed on the driveway. He was on his knees, his white and black shirt clinging to his skin. He clutched his head in his hands, still screaming at the top of his lungs. She touched his shoulder and that shocked him to silence. He sprang away to his feet. He looked around like he was trapped and howled again. 

 

"Richard?" Gilberta reached out again. "Richard?" She sounded confused. "Is that you, Richard?"

 

If it was Richard, he turned and ran into the night.

 

"Richard! Stop!"

 

He was running towards the orchard.

 

"Rowan, stop him!"

 

Her brother gave her an incredulous look then took off after Richard. Richard had a head start and he outpaced Rowan. He ran through the treeline well ahead of Rowan. Rowan stopped, falling to a stop just before the first circle of young trees. He scrambled back, running against his sister. 

 

"He's gone. Gilly, he's gone. Are you sure that was Richard?"

 

"No. No, I'm not. He felt strange, different." Gilberta held out her hand. There were dried dark flecks on it. "I think he's covered in blood."

 

"We have to call someone. We have to call Aunt Alice. I can't go in there myself. I'm not strong enough."

 

Rowan herded his sister back to the House, an echoing shriek came out from the orchard. 

 

Family started gathering over the next three days. Many of the oldest tried to approach the orchard but they found it closed off to them. 

 

Alice Glenisle came on the second day. She stood in front of the orchard for many hours before she paced the borders. It had become a maze, a confusion of the mind and the eye. She was soon joined by her uncle, Donovan Glenisle and together they worked to pierce the intangible barrier of the orchard. Rowan himself saw Alice slip through the treeline soon after while Donovan waited outside.

 

The family waited restlessly. Fear was thick in air. Fear of what Richard had done, fear of what he had become. Fear of Alice too as she would never forgive them if her only child need to be destroyed. 

 

"This could see our end," said one old aunt. She was a cousin of his grandmother. Cousin was a good, all encompassing term. Rowan couldn't keep track of the generation beyond his own, there were just too many. The family that were here were the ones that lived close by. There were many more who were keeping away, the ones who knew that they wouldn't survive the rage. 

 

Rowan didn't blame them. He was a paramedic. He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't raised for violence the way Richard was. He fixed people. He stood close to his older sister and hoped that whoever, or whatever came out of the trees, his cousin Richard would be among them. 

 

They waited for the rest of the day and into the night. Rooms and beds were found for everyone. The House could accommodate everyone. Alice's brothers came in the morning, having stayed to wrap up whatever business she had left. They went out to await their sister. 

 

Alice emerged at the height of the noon sun. She had Richard with her, guiding him with her hand on his shoulder. He looked lost, bloodstained as he was. They came to a stop in front of the house, in front of the gathered family. She looked over her people with her clear green eyes, her blonde hair bright in the overhead sun. 

 

"He has done it. He has destroyed our enemy, the Monster of New York."

 

A breath of relief ran through the crowd. It had always been a gamble, a long game that spanned almost two decades. Rowan knew that there was the fear that Richard would turn against them and side with his father. He looked at Richard now. Or rather, what was left of Richard. 

 

He looked pale and drawn, his eyes vacant and empty. His hair and clothes were torn, unkempt. He was unlike the Richard that Rowan knew. He wasn't the polished and fashionable man. Rowan didn't know the details of their enmity with the Monster of New York, Richard's namesake and father, but he knew that St. James the elder's moniker of the Monster was well earned. There were whispers of hidden atrocities, of whole swaths of missing people right in Manhattan itself and St. James the elder was at the centre of it.

 

So their enemy was dead, and at what cost? 

 

Looking at Alice and her son, Rowan though he knew the answer to that. 

 

Alice had her chin lifted high, defiant and fierce. She knew what was coming next.

 

"And what of the boy?" It was an aunt around Alice's age. It was softly spoken but there was intent behind the question. 

 

"What of my son? He is here, he is alive."

 

"Alice, you know as I do that he's not there."

 

"My son has paid and his soul suffers for it. Would any of us want a boy who does not grief after slaying his own father?"

 

"Alice, be sensible. Richard as we know him is dead."

 

Alice fell silent but her clear green eyes burned. Her brothers, the twins Christian and Kieran, gathered by her side. 

 

Rowan tugged at his sister's sleeve. "We have to go before they break out the fireworks," he said softly. Gilbreta shook her head. 

 

"Trust me." 

 

Then in a move that caused Rowan's heart to seize to halt, she stepped right in the middle of the space between Alice and her cousin.

 

"Aunt Alice, Aunt Jillian. Richard hasn't eaten in a few days. Can we take care of him?"

 

It was, Rowan reflected later, the only move that wouldn't have ended in sunlight filled bloodbath. Gilberta was from a distant bloodline while Alice and Jillian shared a great-grandmother, a direct descendant of the sole daughter of the first Glenisle woman in the Americas. It was like a peacekeeping mouse to wave a white flag between two cats.

 

The mouse could still be eaten, though.

 

"That is a good idea, Gilberta." Jillian nodded in approval. 

 

"Yes, go with your cousin, Richard." 

 

Richard didn't move until Alice gave him a prod. He walked like he was trying to remember what legs were for, one heavy step in front of the other. Gilly and Rowan took his arms and led him indoors, leaving the powerful to settle his fate.

  
  
  


*

  
  
  


It had been devastatingly easy to cut his brother down. 

 

Okabe Haruhi snarled as he made the cut, swinging his sword with practiced precision. Then the haze of fury dissolved and the gravity of what he had done was like a weight in his chest.

 

"Mitsuki! Brother!" He dropped his sword and caught his brother's collapsing body. There was so much blood. Mitsuki's eyes desperately sought his out as he clutched at the gaping wound on his throat. Haruhi tried to stem the blood flow, tearing at the obi at his waist. He pressed the length of silk against his brother's wound, staunching the blood flow. Mitsuki was still struggling for breath, drowning in his own blood. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and his body started shivering uncontrollably. 

 

"Help us!" Haruhi cried. The gathered members of the clan stood where they were. Haruhi glared at them. "You! Kaito! Fetch the doctor."

 

Kaito, insouciant as always, flicked a look towards the clan elders then back at Haruhi. He shrugged. "Whatever." He ambled away, not a hurry in the world.

 

Haruhi glared after him, incredulous at his lack of care. 

 

Elder Iruko made an impatient gesture. "Go to him." Several clan that were assigned to the medical wing scurried out from their hiding place and ran towards Mitsuki. Haruhi could have sobbed in relief if not for the mounting rage. She had dared to withhold aid for his brother?

 

"Perhaps now he will be more obedient to the Clan's instruction."

 

"Obedient? I almost killed him!" 

 

"And you have done well!" Elder Iruko looked down at him with some satisfaction. "You have risen to the challenge and have proven yourself fit to slay even your own brother. You should be proud of yourself."

 

The clan medics arrived and took over from Haruhi. He stepped back, watching them stabilize Mitsuki's wound then bundle him away. Proud was not the word he'd use, no, not with his brother's blood drying on his hands.

 

Elder Iruko came and touched him on the arm, a rare gesture. "It is normal for you to feel guilty. You are, after all, brothers. It is natural for you to be fond of your brother. You must not forget that clan comes first at all times. Your parents knew this truth, and now you too know the cost of ensuring clan strength. We could not afford disobedience. Even from your brother. You may go and tend to him, but mind that you do not forget your duties."

 

Haruhi bowed. "Thank you, Iruko-san. I will remember this lesson."

 

Elder Iruko smiled, her eyes disappearing in her wrinkles. "We expect much of you, Haruhi-san. Your leadership will make the clan strong." She patted his arm then left, followed by her retinue. 

 

Later, as Haruhi sat beside his brother's bed in the healing room, he decided on a plan. He wouldn't say that he and Mitsuki were close, not now. The deaths of their parents several years ago had forced them on different paths. Where Haruhi looked to the future of the clan, Mitsuki focused on his own distractions. His schooling fell to the wayside and his duties to the clan were ignored. Haruki reflected that he had not been the best brother. Each chide and reprimand only drove his brother away from him. 

 

They were all that they had in this world.

 

For a moment, while Haruhi tried desperately to stem the flow of blood from his brother's wound, Haruhi had a vision of a life without his brother. Worse, he had a vision of his parents looking down upon him from the spirit world and disapproving of his actions. He was the elder brother. Mitsuki was his responsibility. His duty was to care for his brother, not kill him as a sadistic lesson, no matter what Elder Iruko and her ilk thought. He gripped Mitsuki's blankets with a fierceness. From now on, he vowed in his heart, he would look after his brother and watch out for his interests. He would not serve a clan that encouraged a brother to fight, nay, kill, his sibling. He would take his little brother and go somewhere far away, somewhere where he would never have to make the decision between his life and the clan's strength. 

 

He vowed it.

 

*

 

It took about three months before Mitsuki was cleared to leave his sick room. There were complications after that night, complications thankfully foreseen by the clan's doctor. He had gone into organ failure from the blood loss but a steady flow of transfusions and rapid treatment had seen him weak, but recovered. Haruhi was by his side when he emerged. He had not spoken with Haruhi and Haruhi had not pressed him, though he visited daily. Haruhi had endured his resentful looks each time he visited. He accompanied Mitsuki to his room and saw him settled. His brother was clearly not ready to move, not as he was still recovering. It will be many months more before Haruhi could implement his plan to leave the clan. 

 

He turned away from Mitsuki's room and walked down the hall, only to be ambushed by Elder Iruko. She had been waiting for him, and he walked right into her trap. 

 

"Haruhi-san. Come walk with me."

 

"Yes, elder." 

 

He fell in beside her, matching his steps to hers.

 

"I wish to talk to you about your brother."

 

"Of course, elder."

 

"Does he know how lucky he is? Have you impressed on him that his continued health and survival was due to the clan coming to his aid?"

 

"He is aware that his injuries have been taken care of, yes, elder."

 

"Yes, elder, he is aware."

 

"Good. Make sure that he is also aware that his upcoming treatments is dependent on his continued obedience to the clan. We are aware of his weakened state. Therefore simple tasks have been set for him. His loyalty to the clan will be gauged upon those tasks."

 

Haruhi had no doubt that those tasks would be as degrading as the fiendish minds in the elder council could imagine.

 

"It will not be wise, Elder Iruko, to test him like this. He should be focusing on his recovery and his training."

 

"Nonsense! He has been broken! Now is the chance to see that he remains broken and malleable!"

 

"That is senseless, Elder. A broken soldier has no utility."

 

"You speak out of turn, Haruhi-san. It is you who speaks of nonsense. Do you think that after his show of rebellion that we would actually see him trained to such standards again? He is weak and he will stay weak as an example to those who would rebel against the clan. That is all."

 

Haruhi was dismissed with a sharp jerk of Iruko's head. He spun on his foot, striding away with a straight back. This will not do. This will not do at all. He had to think, and he had to do it quickly. Haruhi was not without allies in the clan, but all cowered before the might of the council of elders. Iruko was only one of many who led the clan, but she was the leader and she was the most vocal. 

 

She threatened his brother.

 

Fire burned through his veins. How dare she, after all he had done for the clan, after what his parents had done. Turning his brother into an example of obedience was not an option. 

 

He would see Iruko pay for this.

 

That night, he fetched Mitsuki from his room for the evening meal. The door was locked and there was no sound of movement. Haruhi's eyes narrowed. It was no matter, he could go through his own room and jump from window to window. There were always ways. He was about to do so when Kaito rounded the corner. Kaito laughed upon seeing him. "Cousin! What are you doing here? Haven't you heard?"

 

"Heard what, cousin?" Haruhi had not forgiven Kaito's indifference to Mitsuki's injuries.

 

"The guards have captured a runaway, cousin." Kaito's grin was white and empty. "You must come to the hall now!"

 

Haruhi could add two and two together. He was never sure why he had earned Kaito's animosity, but he knew that Kaito meant nothing but ill towards Haruhi and his brother.

 

"Surely we have no time for such pedestrian entertainments," said Haruhi. "We have better things to occupy ourselves with."

 

"Oh pff, just this once, cousin."

 

Haruhi allowed himself to be guided by Kaito's firm hand. "As you wish, cousin. Our tastes have never run in the same directions, as I recall."

 

"Please, cousin. Stop being an uptight snob for once. A little fun never harmed anyone."

 

Haruhi would say otherwise. Kaito's idea of fun leaned towards the screaming of his victims. 

 

"As you say, cousin. Let us go then."

 

They fell into step together, walking side by side with purpose. The reached the hall and Kaito gestured that he enter first. Haruhi stepped in, conscious of Kaito closing the doors behind them. The scene before him was his worst nightmare come true. The elders and the members of the clan were assembled at their tables, the meal set forth before them.

 

Yet it seemed that the night's entertainment would start first. 

 

Mitsuki was in the middle of the hall, his arms tied behind him. He had been beaten and was bloodied and bruised. His eyes, however, there was still fire in his eyes and for that Haruhi was glad. 

 

He heard Kaito draw his blade and the sharp point prodded at his back, forcing him to move into the hall.

 

Elder Iruko stood. "So. Do you see what we have here, Haruhi-san? Do you see your own brother here? I thought you had told me that he had learned his lesson and that he was going to remain loyal to the clan. Instead the guards have found your worthless brother trying to run away. He has learned nothing, least of all his place!"

 

"And what of your place? You were our grandmothers youngest sister. You were always envious of her and her skill!" 

 

"Insolence! You will hold your tongue, or you will be crushed along with your brother!"

 

"You envied her so much that you despised her descendants."

 

"Shut him up!"

 

"You sent my parents to their deaths!"

 

"Kill him and kill his lowly brother!"

 

The hall was in an uproar as clans members protested. Someone jostled Kaito enough that the point of his blade was knocked away from Haruhi's back. It was a split second of inattention but it was all Haruhi needed. He flung down the smoke bomb that he'd hidden in his sleeve and the immediate area was covered in a thick cloud of smoke. He ducked low and drew the sword that Kaito had neglected to take from him. He sprung forth from the smoke and saw that the clan was in chaos. Clans members were raising sword against fellow clans members. In the distance, Haruhi could see that Elder Iruko was being dragged away to safety. No matter. She was a target for another time. Mitsuki was still in danger. He raced forward, ducking the sword that was raised at him and stuck under the guard's guard. He made a choking gasp then fell to the side as Haruhi kicked him away from his blade. The then made quick work of the bounds holding Mitsuki down. Mitsuki tried to get up, but he collapsed again as his knee crumpled under him.

 

"Lean on me, brother," said Haruhi. He dragged his brother's arm over his shoulder. "I think Kasumi is aiding our escape." Cousin Kasumi had always a soft spot for Mitsuki. Haruhi rather thought it was because Mitsuki was soft in the head.

 

"You're helping me," said Mitsuki. "You are actually helping me." He looked stunned at this turn of events. 

 

"Of course, you idiot."

 

"I thought you were my prison warden." Mitsuki laughed. His voice was harsh with a croaky quality. Haruhi hoped that it was the loudness of the hall that made him sound different.

 

"Bah! Let's go from here!" 

 

Haruhi pulled his brother along, leaning low and keeping out of the fight in the middle of the hall. Burdened with his brother's weight, Haruhi was sorely lacking his customary fleet footedness and agility. Then a body stood in their way. It was Kaito, his sword drawn and fervor in his eyes. It was the first time that Haruhi had seen anything other than bored cruelty in his cousin's eyes. "So. I have have you now. When you are dead, I will be chosen to lead this clan."

 

"Is that all you've ever wanted? You can have it!"

 

"No! I will not have your leavings, your cast offs! I will fight you for this right!"

 

Haruhi had no choice. Kaito was approaching. He moved to throw Mitsuki off his shoulders so he could fight, but a shriek and a figure in black flew out and kicked Kaito in the face. 

 

"You are pathetic, Kaito!" It was Kasumi. "You want Haruhi and Mitsuki? You will need to go through me!" 

 

Kaito raised his sword but Kasumi kicked his hand. She never waited for him to recover but slashed upwards at his face. Kaito screamed, causing the shadows around him to shudder and writhe. 

 

Kasumi turned to look at them. "Are you two still here? Go! I'll try and contact you, but go!"

 

Haruhi adjusted his grip on his brother and went. They ducked through the open doors of the hall and out into the courtyard. Almost the whole clan would have been in the hall for the evening meal, but the commotion was attracting other members who were absent for the meal. Haruhi turned away to avoid them, moving steadily towards the garages. Mitsuki was making pained gasps, perspiration pouring down his face. His movements, once graceful, were now awkward and stiff.

 

"I promise you, brother. No one will hurt you like that again."

 

"Promises, promises, big brother."

 

"You should have waited. I was going to get us away in three months. My preparations had not been complete."

 

"It would have been good to have been included in your preparations." 

 

"Yes, if only you were not under such heavy surveillance." 

 

"Excuses, excuses." 

 

Haruhi scowled at him, but Mitsuki only grinned, a shadow of his old self.

 

They reached the garage and found the vehicle that Haruhi had prepared earlier, an SUV with bags of clothes and weapons. They would only take from the clan was was theirs.

 

"I thought you said your preparations were not yet done." Mitsuki struggled to strap himself in, the beating he received earlier had cracked his ribs and the hurried way Haruhi had dragged him had not helped matters.

 

Haruhi reached over and tugged the seatbelt down. "Yes, but the conversation with Iruko earlier, that you were meant to hear, caused me to push my plans forward."

 

Mitsuki laughed breathlessly. "The sly old snake. Does she really hate our line?"

 

"Who knows. It was Kasumi who told me that. I was never treated with disdain by Iruku."

 

"Well of course not, you were the chosen leader of the clan." Mitsuki laughed. "My big brother, the leader who is now running away."

 

"Your big brother who is risking all to save you, his ungrateful brat of a brother."

 

"Urgh, lucky me."

 

Haruhi gave a growl and backed the SUV out of the garage and gunned it out through the gates. 

 

"Good bye, home," murmured Mitsuki. "You were shit but there were good memories."

 

"To good memories," Haruhi said in turn. 

 

The vehicle roared its way into the night. 

  
  



	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter twoooooo. Updates are a little sporadic, I'm sorry to say. My writing is best done on the weekend as it's lucky if I get to write a thousand words on weekdays.
> 
> Thanks for reading, you guys!

 

Alain lay in bed. He stared up at the ceiling. He knew it was past noon, yet he couldn't gather the energy to slide out from under the warm covers. Pigeon cooed on the nightstand beside the bed. He sounded irritable. The little bird danced along the length of his kingdom, the length of the nightstand's surface. He dodged various knicknacks and empty pill bottles and hopped on a stack of books, still cooing. Alain smiled at his tiny feathered friend. He rolled to his side.

 

"I can't," said Alain. "I'm sorry." He reached his arm out and stroked the little bobbing head. "I just can't this morning."

 

Pigeon cooed chidingly. 

 

"Yes, I know it's lunch time. I'm sorry. I'll give you more corn." 

 

Alain pulled himself to the edge of the bed and pulled box of corn closer. He pulled out a handful and scattered them over a novel he'd neglected to read. 

 

Pigeon eyed the handful of corn with disdain. He fluffed with indignation and cooed in his direction.

 

Alain sighed, turning his back on the disgraceful scene. He couldn't even keep his pet happy. He pulled the blanket over his head, burying himself in a tomb of soft bed covers. He stared at the opposite wall, the unkempt mess of his room. He stared at the dim corners and the piles of abandoned projects. There were oddly shaped, but familiar, lumps under fabric covers scattered all about the room. He could reach out and fill his hands with one such object, letting his hands shape around the tools he'd known all his life.

 

He didn't. He merely stayed where he was, beleaguered by an angry pigeon. A burst of air and flap of wings brought Pigeon to land on his head where he puffed and cooed, yelling in his own way at something that he disproved of. Pigeon had very firm ideas, and apparently one of those ideas was that it was time to stop nesting and find food once the sun was up.

 

Alain wished he had the will to make at least one person in his life happy with him.

 

He brushed the little grey bird off his head and pulled the pillows over his head. He could hear Pigeon cooing disapprovingly. It was the last thing he heard as sleep claimed him again.

 

Alain woke to movement in his room. It was strange how his first reaction was to obey the rushing blood in his veins and reach for a weapon, something that will make the intruder pay. He knew exactly what he needed. It was under his pillow. A slight movement and the knife would be in his hand...

 

"Hey, sleepy. Are you there? Pigeon tells me you haven't been out foraging. He's very upset at you."

 

Cousin Ivy. Alain let his hand move away from the knife and he emerged from his vault of blankets and sat up in bed. Ivy smiled at him and sat on the edge. Pigeon, the worst of deserters, was nestled in her two hands, eyes closed in pleasure. "I'm sorry, did I disturb you? I let myself in. I thought it'd be nice for a few of us to go have an afternoon snack together." Ivy had many of the family features. She was blond and wore the family's narrow build well. Her eyes were dark, though, brown where many had light coloured eyes, and she lacked the height that was characteristic of the family. It gave her a pixieish look, pretty and mischievous. Alain rather liked her, but never well enough. Ivy didn't live in this house. She stayed at the dorm at the university. The house at South End was a decent forty minute bus ride away. This wasn't a casual stop.

 

Alain sighed and swung his legs over the side. Ivy shuffled close so that they were pressed close against each other. Alain leaned back. It was nice, just a little comfort shared between family. "C'mon, sleepy. Up you get. Let's get you into the shower and dressed. You'll like this new cafe. It's called  _ Ninja Espresso _ . The two guys who run it are so cute." She put Pigeon on his shoulder. The bird showed his immediate contempt by turning his tail on Alain. "He's not happy you hid from him," explained Ivy. Alain didn't need anyone to tell him that. 

 

She pulled him to his feet and pushed him into the adjoining bathroom. "Go get clean! We'll tidy up here." She pulled the door shut before he could protest.

 

We?

 

Alain sighed, knocking his head back on the door. Words could not describe how sickened he felt at his own sloth. He felt like throwing up.

 

"I don't hear any water!"

 

Ivy had five brothers, one older, four younger. She bossed them all like a proper Glenisle girl. 

 

"Don't make me come in there!"

 

Right. He moved to turn the shower on. He waited until hot water flowed and he shucked off his shorts and stepped in. Pigeon flew off to perch near the mirror. The hot water stung and he adjusted the taps again until the temperature was just right. His skin would still glow red, though. The curse of being so fair. 

 

Alain spent some time in the shower, taking his time to clean hair and skin and all the other crevices that he'd normally overlook. The longer he spent here, the more he could sense who was moving in his room. There was Ivy, certainly. With her were Cassie and Cass, who at least lived here, as did Rowan. Weyland also lived in the dorms, as did Grayson. 

 

Well. Enough. He stepped out of the shower and dripping on the mat, and did his teeth. 

 

Then he walked out barenaked into the room.

 

It had undergone a transformation. The curtains were pulled back to reveal a dreary winter afternoon, but the bed sheets were changed and the surfaces were wiped down. His piles of unfolded laundry were being sorted into what needed to be folded and what needed to be ironed and hung away. 

 

Activity halted when he emerged, then Weyland laughed, and laughed again when he picked up a marker and wrote on the whiteboard beside the door.

 

_ The coffee can't be that good. _

 

"We won't know until we go and try." Rowan shrugged. He'd found Alain's sun lamp and was standing with the lamp warming his back. He looked as wrecked as Alain felt most days, but that was normal for his job. He was pulling out what few tees Alain had and was folding them neatly. "I just need coffee."

 

_ The machine? _

 

"It needs servicing," Rowan said. He looked close to breaking into tears. "I need coffee and sleep."

 

Alain didn't know much but he knew it didn't work like that. He refrained from commenting, though. Instead, he shrugged and accepted the fresh pair of shorts that Cassie tossed at him, then followed as she pulled him into his wardrobe. He snagged a freshly folded undershirt and pulled in on as Cassie puttered around, gathering an outfit for him. 

 

"You didn't shave, but that's fine. That stubble looks good." She brushed his cheek, smiling at him. "Chin up, it's just coffee. And a cake. And then dinner with the rest of us." There must have been something in his expression that reflected the horror of an afternoon of socializing because she rolled her eyes at him. "Here, this is a nice shirt. Then we'll take these nice black jeans and this navy sweater and look." She beamed. "There's my handsome cousin."

 

Alain pulled on the shirt and the jeans, conscious of how much looser they were when he'd bought them. There wasn't much fat on him, very little in fact. There should have been sleek and strong muscle, not the soft worm he'd become. Cassie didn't make a comment on the looser fit of his clothing. His jeans should have been skinny and skin tight, and she would have known as she'd gone shopping with him. 

 

Nevermind. He looked at his collection of jackets and pulled out a black peacoat. Socks belt and boots completed the outfit. He didn't carry a watch anymore, but when Cassie had turned, he pulled down a long, slim object from a high shelf and inserted under his coat. He'd sewn the pocket in the coat's lining himself. 

 

"It's just coffee, Alain," said Cass. Of course he'd seen everything. "And it's not far."

 

Alain shrugged. He pocketed the notebook and pen that Cass held out. Rowan had collapsed on his newly made bed and was snoring softly, Pigeon nesting in his hair. Alain picked up one of the scattering of pill bottles on the bedside and dry swallowed a couple. 

 

"Okay! He’s decent!" Ivy clapped her hands. "Let's go! Someone carry Rowan. It's not far so let's walk. And Alain, no guns!"

 

Alain stopped as he reached for the covered odd-shaped object on his bedside. 

 

"It's just coffee, there's no one to shoot."

 

He exhaled sharply through his nose.

 

"You already have one knife!"

 

He shrugged and reached instead for the the silver butterfly knife in the bedside drawer.

 

"Urgh."

 

He flipped the blade around his hand for emphasis. 

 

Weyland laughed again. "Ready? I've got Rowan." He pulled Rowan onto his back, grunting slightly. Pigeon flapped off to land on Alain's shoulder. He cooed, scolding everyone. 

 

"Rowan needs to lay off the candybars." 

 

"That's his major food group, though," Cass grinned. He held out Alain's knit hat and gloves. "He'll be less the Rowan we know, a ghost that walks our halls moaning for coffee." Cassie slapped his arm. "Ow, what?"

 

That enough to make Alain smile. He pocketed his knife, the hat and gloves, and helped Weyland with Rowan. All three were mismatched in height with Weyland being the tallest and Rowan being the only male in the room under six foot. 

 

"I'm up, I'm up." Rowan mumbled. He stumbled uprights and yawned. "Could I take the sunlamp with me?"

 

"We don't have a generator to take with us! and it's rude to just use someone's electricity without permission." Ivy started pushing everyone out of the room.

 

"Bossy," Rowan muttered. 

 

"You don't know the half of it," said Weyland. "Think I could move in with you guys? 

 

"You could use Rowan's room. He only uses it for six hours a day," said Cass.

 

"Very funny." Rowan yawned again and rubbed his eyes awake. 

 

Cassie picked up Pigeon from Alain's shoulder and fitted a fetching little red suit on him. Pigeon endured this insult patiently, cooing happily, in fact. Cassie rolled her eyes at Alain's expression. "It's cleaner, you slob. And he likes it. You may not mind pigeon poop everywhere but there's people who do."

 

Alain snorted. _ Weak,  _ he signed with two hands.

 

"And we all thought you couldn't be a jerk when you couldn't speak."

 

That brought a soft soundless laugh out.  _ Shows what you know. _

 

"Jerk," she said again, smiling fondly. 

 

They trooped down the stairs, a trail of happy banter following them. Pigeon scooted inside his coat as the group of them spilled out into the street. Alain sometimes wondered what people saw when they saw a group of his cousins. The whole family was almost all blond and with lean athletic builds. Their features were also very similar, the strong resemblances of the family marked them. Cass and Alain could be mistaken for each other quite easily, in fact, despite that they were fourth cousins. It was almost an inbuilt habit that each member try to attain some form of uniqueness in their physical appearance. 

 

Cassie affected black lipstick and nail polish. Cass wore his hair long past his shoulders. Ivy had pink tips in her hair and Weyland looked like he was auditioning for a role as a lumberjack with his plaid jacket and trimmed beard. Rowan just looked tired.

 

Then there was him. Alain knew that his normally stylish haircut was outgrown. He looked thin from the loss of muscle. Not many people around could read his shuttered eyes, and he looked dour from the lack of smiling. 

 

There was little that he could smile about these days.

 

He ambled along in the middle of the group. Ivy had put her arm through his and was chattering to Weyland on her other side. Behind them, Cassie and Cass had tucked Rowan between them, making sure that he could stay upright enough to walk down the street for some much needed coffee. 

 

They crossed the road to the other side and walked for a couple more blocks. Ivy was right, it wasn't far. Pigeon cooed comfortably in his coat, nestling against his neck. This was nice. The walk and the brisk air was sending life through him. He could do this. It was just coffee. Maybe a snack, then dinner at home with familiar members of his extended family.

 

The cafe, when they got there, was a cosy affair. There was a busy counter and plenty of room for seating.

 

Cassie waved at him. "C'mon, give me your order. And it had better not just be a plain cup. You need calories."

 

"How 'bout me? I just want a long black."

 

"You may have a plain long black," said Cassie, with some magnanimity. "But you must take it home in a cup, then at some point this evening, you must sleep. You can have your coffee cold when you wake up."

 

Rowan wailed softly. 

 

"Cold coffee at this time of year. You monsters."

 

Alain, meanwhile, had scribbled out his order. He ripped it out of his notebook and tucked it into Cassie's waiting hand. 

 

"A mocha in full-fat milk, hazelnut syrup and cream. Well done. We'll get you a pie, too."

 

_ Thank you, oh cruel mistress. _

 

"Jerk. Right, who else? Cass and I will take the orders while the rest of you find a seat. I want to see the street!"

 

"Look at us poor souls, being bossed around." Weyland flung his hand to his forehead. "Will the heavens not take pity on us?"

 

Alain remembered that Weyland was a theatre major. 

 

"So that's a pinkest frappuccino they have for you." Cassie stuck her tongue out at him and went to the counter with the orders

 

Weyland shook his head. "Such cruel treatment."

 

Rowan clapped him on the shoulder in solidarity. Alain only snorted and went to find a seat.

 

It wasn't difficult. It had been a cold day with the occasional flurry of snow. It kept people indoors for the most part and even good coffee was not enough incentive to draw them outdoors. There was room enough for the cousins to push together some tables and chairs so that there was enough seating for the six of them.

 

He settled himself at the edge of the group, not really keen on the idea of socializing more than he had to. It didn't matter, Rowan and Weyland were talking amongst themselves anyway. Ivy had gone with the Casses for her order and came back soon after with a plate of cookies. "They're going to bring everything else out as one. They're really cute guys," she added, dreamily. She set the plate down and slide into the chair opposite Alain. She smiled brightly at him.

 

Alain managed a small smile in turn. It was only polite. He broke a piece of an oatmeal cookie to offer Pigeon, not noticing how her eyes had brightened how she just beamed happily. Alain was distracted again when the Casses returned laden with a tray filled with more treats and cakes. A slice of cake was place in front of him. It looked like a plain sponge with layers of cream and sliced fruit in between each layer. 

 

"The drinks are coming, along with a few things that needed warming." Cassie settled herself beside Ivy. 

 

Rowan jostled his elbow and pointed at his cake. "Go on, start. I don't know how you're not starving."

 

In truth, he had no appetite. It was a nice looking slice, however, so he tried a forkful. Tart fruit with soft cream and sponge cake. It was a delight. The sweetness from the cake was cut by the cream and the fruit. It was a bit like a trifle, but without the jam. 

 

"Wouldn't hurt to have another bite, right?" 

 

Alain jostled back at his cousin, but he did take another bite. Before he knew it, the slice was half eaten and the drinks had arrived. 

 

"Orders for table nine, yes?" The server spoke English well though he had a heavy Japanese accent and a gruff voice. He wasn't very tall, but had a fit and strong build. His musculature was evident through the tight shirt he wore under his apron. His eyes were a warm brown and he had bleached his hair and dyed it grey with dark streaks, and he wore a purple bandana around his neck. He carried a tray laden with drinks and warmed brownies. As he served out the drinks, and as he gave Alain his mochachino, he saw very faint lines of scars on the man's arms. A casual observer would have missed them, but Alain knew what he was looking for.

 

He smiled at the server, however. The man might not be in the game right now, or he might be staking out someone else. 

 

Maybe.

 

"Ah, it is you who got the last piece piece of fruit shortcake! I thought I would keep it for myself but your sister ordered it before I could reach it! Did you like it?"

 

"Cousin. We're mostly all cousins," said Rowan. "Al here doesn't speak much. He had an accident. But he liked your cake, he's almost finished with it."

 

"Cousins! I had thought you were, how you say, sextuplets? You all look so much alike, it is amazing. Can I get you anything else?"

 

"Something that isn't purple?" Weyland lifted up his very purple drink. "What is it even?"

 

"It's taro, you dolt," said Ivy. "You have it all the time at boba tea."

 

"Oh, right, I guess." He took a sip. "Oh yeah, it's good. Nevermind!"

 

"Ah good! And you have a very cute pigeon. Would you like some bread for it?"

 

Whatever the barista's game was, he was really into his role. Alain smiled and nodded. 

 

"I think we have some pumpkin bread still. I will be right back. If you need me, you may call me Max." Heh. Indeed. Max gave them all a dazzling smile and turned on his heel.

 

"See? I told you he was cute. I think they're brothers." Ivy beamed. 

 

Alain shrugged a little, not really sure of the answer Ivy wanted. He hadn't seen the other barista and so couldn't judge. It made sense though. It would be foolish to go into deep cover without backup.  _ Ninja Espresso.  _ Right. In all fairness, he himself would have opened a florist and called it Guns and Roses. He wished he had access to his father's old contacts but even with the few jobs he'd picked up over the years, he'd remained isolated from the greater circle of professionals. 

 

Still he accepted with a smile the bit of pumpkin bread that "Max" brought out. He remained as he was, listless and unconcerned. It may not have been him that they were hunting. 

 

But the fact that they were in his neighborhood spoke volumes. 

 

*

 

Alain didn't tell his cousins of his suspicions. Then again, they didn't tell him there was going to be a large crowd over for dinner. It was all family members, but it still meant that he was required to stay out of his room. Not necessarily a big deal, but the short outing had already been exhausting. He felt emotionally drained and he really, really wanted the sanctuary of his room. 

 

They arrived home and Cassie immediately got on the phone to order take out. She plopped down on the couch beside him, pressing against him with familiar comfort. Rowan rolled on the other side of the large sectional and was immediately out, his takeaway cup of coffee left to cool on the coffee table. 

 

"Okay, I'm thinking I'll order some Thai, some pizza....what else?"

 

"Fried chicken?" Weyland looked hopeful.

 

Cassie wrinkled her nose. "Getting the pizza is already a stretch. Gilly's said she's bringing Uncle Donovan. You know he's just going to sit and sigh at anything that'll raise his cholesterol levels."

 

"Lame. We choose to die like men," said Cass. "In a ditch with a heartattack."

 

Cassie pointed a finger at her twin. "No."

 

"Fried cheeeekeeeennnnn," wailed Weyland.

 

Cassie snorted. "No." 

 

Alain showed her his notebook.  _ Chicken karaage rice? I promise I will eat.  _ Both a truly dirty move and a sign of solidarity. 

 

"Ergh. Fine. I'll order Japanese. Oh that works out. Uncle Donovan loves a good plate of sushi." She looked up the delivery app on her phone, muttering about lousy bastard men under her breath.

 

Alain shared a smirk with his cousins. 

 

"One day they will ask, why don't you cook, Cassiopeia? And I will answer, on top of my throne of takeaway boxes, because I have too many hungry male cousins." 

 

"It's the twenty-first century, Cassie, get with the program. Let the boys into the kitchen," said Ivy, giggling. 

 

"I'm not stopping them, but I'm also not cleaning up after them."

 

The conversation changed and Alain let his head drop back against the couch. Pigeon was perched on his knee, and he didn't want to disturb him but he couldn't get over how increasingly suffocated he felt. There was too many people, too many unvoiced expectations. There was a tightness the ran down the back of his neck. He had to move before he did so violently.

 

Very carefully, he picked up Pigeon and transferred him to his shoulder and he extracted himself from Cassie's side. He stood and made his way to the back of the house to step out the back door in the kitchen. 

 

There was a small courtyard there, where in the summer would be a pots of flowering plants and herbs. The herbs had been placed indoors where they were in the warm and the flowering plants had been left to die. In the spring, he might help Cassie or Rowan replant bulbs and maybe install a vegetable garden. A pumpkin patch might be nice. He'd seen examples of pumpkin vines grown on garden arches, perfect for the little courtyard they had here. 

 

Alain sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

 

What was he doing here? He was just wasting away, reliant on his family's generosity. The currency of charity would soon run out and he'd then face their annoyance and ire. He was a broken wreck, a sorry sack of misery who couldn't even take care of himself. Things would be better if... If...

 

Pigeon cooed, a little bubble of a sound. He walked up the length of his arm until he was perched on Alain's fingers. He bobbed his head and cooed until Alain brought his hand down on Pigeon's back, stroking him between the wings. He was a little common city pigeon. Not even a fancy breed. There was a dusting of emerald and amethyst around his neck and his wings were grey and dark grey. Alain had found him a year ago with a broken wing that prevented him from finding food and shelter in the cold. He didn't pick up Pigeon then, only watching from the window seat of the bus as it drove off. It preyed on him until that evening when he found he couldn't let the image of the lame pigeon go and he ran out into the night pulling his coat on. He'd found Pigeon after an extensive search and brought him to a vet. Even with a healed wing, Pigeon refused to leave him for long. He'd always come back as if he'd never left. 

 

Alain closed his eyes and tucked Pigeon under his chin. He could feel the vibrations of the cooing through the little feathered body. "It's okay. Thank you. I'm okay now." Pigeon never stopped crooning and nuzzling his neck. Alain exhaled softly letting his breath blow through Pigeon's feathers. Pigeon crooned happily. 

 

"Hey?

 

Alain turned. It was Ivy. "Was that you speaking? I forgot what you sounded like. It's been a while, huh?" She stepped down the three steps to the courtyard. "I think the last I heard you speak was during that one Easter? You out in front, singing. You were pretty amazing." She paused. "I mean, you're still pretty amazing." She smiled up at him.

 

Alain blinked down at her, unsure of where this was going. 

 

Ivy touched his face. "It's been hard for you, hasn't it? I can help, you know. I can help make it better. I can help with the dreams and I can help make you feel good. We would do very well with each other. I could take care of you, make it so that you wouldn't have to worry about anything at all. You could be your old self again."

 

Alain closed his eyes, letting her touch his hair. It felt nice. He did feel his concerns melt away. Tension loosened from his neck and shoulders. It sounded wonderful. It sounded like a dream, to be whole again, to be strong and fast, to be the sharp blade that his family needed him to be. To be able to talk without his throat seizing and clenching. To close his eyes and not be tormented by memories. To be able to...

 

To be able to...

 

To see him again.

 

To be able to scream.

 

To roar and gnash his teeth. 

 

To never be free again. 

 

To be chained by a Glenisle woman.

 

To never truly be himself, only what she wanted him to be.

 

Alain closed his mind to her subtle influence. His eyes snapped open and spoke the words that his voice could not utter.

 

Ivy gasped, drew back her hand as if she was burned. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. "But... But I love you."

 

Alain drew breath and stepped back, away from her reach and her touch. He shook his head and turned his back on her.

 

"Oh but, we could be so strong together. We could go so far!"

 

"Ivy, that's enough." It was Cassie. "Come away. Let Alain alone. He said no."

 

Ivy sniffed loudly, then left with Cassie. 

 

Cass came down the courtyard and stood by him. He placed a hand on Alain's shoulder and Alain nodded at him, silently telling him he was fine. Somewhere along the line, Pigeon had entered his sweater and peered out out cautiously.

 

"Let me check properly."

 

Alain patiently let him touch his head. Cassius concentrated as he examined the contours of Alain's mind. 

 

"I can't sense any damage." He stared Alain in the eye. Where Alain's eyes could be described as dirty green, Cass' were a clear gray. He was older than Alain by a few years, and while not as strong as him, Cass had his own catalogue of knowledge and tricks. 

 

"What do you think?"

 

Alain shook his head. He signed,  _ no harm no foul. _

 

"That was a very strong assault. It woke Rowan. even. Weyland is terrified."

 

_ Weyland should stay the night. _

 

"I agree." Rowan looked up at the sky. The sun was lower and dusk wasn't far. "She has five brothers. She would have been extraordinary with you." 

 

Adrian rolled his shoulders. He was an only child. He answered to no woman but his mother.

 

"Stay out here. I'll send Weyland out. I think Cassie will accompany Ivy back to her dorm. I'll go with her. Tell Gilly and Donovan what happened when they arrive. I want Donovan to examine you, too."

 

Alain snorted but gave a thumbs up. If it would help Cass feel better. He had a responsibility for the younger male relations under him. Cass gave him another long look before going back in. Weyland came out soon after, Rowan at his heels. They huddled around Alain. "Better out here than in there," said Rowan. 

 

"Do you think if I go back with her, she'll try and claim me?" 

 

"Probably not."

 

"I can stay the night, though, right?"

 

Alain nodded, as did Rowan. 

 

"Okay, cool. Cool." 

 

Their breath frosted in the darkening evening, staying out in the cold until Rowan poked his head out. "We're off. Alain, we're taking your car. We'll be late for dinner but keep some something aside for us." He went back in.

 

"Think we'll give him five minutes for the all clear or...?" 

 

Rowan exchanged a look with Alain and received a nod.

 

"We're good. Let's go."

 

The house had changed little inside. It seemed dimmer and colder, yet the lights were on and so was the heat. Alain pushed his cousins into the living room while he put the kettle on. He gathered mugs, then looked down. There were three people in the house yet he'd gathered five mugs. He'd just poured out all five mugs of hot tea when Caspar and Cassidy walked through the front door. They completed the set of the Cass siblings. 

 

"Cassie told me what had happened," they said. 

 

"Guys, you're doing the weird thing," said Rowan.

 

"Sorry, I'm still talking with Cassie," they said again. "Is that tea for me?"

 

Alain brought the drinks out on a tray. He nodded. They peered intently at him. "He looks fine," they said. "I'll keep dinner warm for you. Yes, I love you too. Cassius too." The spell broke and the twins grinned different sheepish grins. 

 

"Gilly's going to kill us," said Cassidy. He had a ring in his ear.

 

"We should have seen this coming." Casper had a broken nose. 

 

Alain shrugged. 

 

"Right, playing mum, huh?" Cassidy ignored the sharp elbow from Casper. "Okay, what did Cassie order for dinner? Nothing disgustingly healthy. She's a pushover."

 

Glad of a change of subject, Weyland leaned forward, relaying his encyclopedic knowledge of the night's menu.

 

*

 

Gilberta arrived a little later, wrapped heavily in comfy woolens. A tall figure with grey hair was behind her. They took off their overcoats in the foyer and were then ensconced on the sofa with a hot drink in hand. They were soon followed by Havelock and Esme, older cousins who actually brought a homemade casserole. Food arrived and was casually arranged over countertops and with crockery stacked and waiting. 

 

"Cassie said to start without them," said Cassidy. "Help yourselves, everyone."

 

Alain filled a plate, mechanically loading it with whatever looked nice. He brought his plate back to the couch, then he sat and looked at his food. Any appetite he had was now gone. There was a faint sense of nausea in the pit of his stomach, and the faint trace of guilt in the back of his mind. Now that the adrenaline was gone, he was back to thinking again, thinking about the day and the fuss that was kicked up because of him.

 

Pigeon pulled at his ear, cooing urgently. 

 

He closed his eyes, bringing his hand to scratch Pigeon's little head. 

 

A weight settle on the couch beside him. It was Donovan, smiling gently.

 

Everyone called Donovan uncle but really, he was Alain's true uncle. Donovan never had children of his own, but raised his sister's orphaned children like his own. He was tall, with dark hair once, though his eyes were green. His skin had a tanned aspect and he was dressed in dark, sombre clothing. There was a camera hanging from his neck. He was the rare Glenisle that resembled his father as much as his mother.

 

_ No little white dog?  _ signed Alain.

 

"Heh, no. I'm afraid Chester took one look at the cold outdoors and went back to his couch."

 

_ Clever dog. _

 

"Most times, yes." Donovan gave him one of those piercing looks that Alain was fast getting tired of. "Hmm. You don't look compromised. When was the last time you visited your grandmother?"

 

That was not a question that Alain was prepared for. He frowned, thinking. Pigeon cooed questioningly.

 

_ One year ago. Before Pigeon. _

 

"It may be time for a visit. Some time in the orchard can ease your cares. She misses you."

 

Rowan shuddered. "Mostly, some time in the orchard eases your life away," he said. "But don't mind me."

 

"I won't." Donovan smiled. "Alain, take a bite."

 

Alain almost did so. He stopped with the fork halfway to his mouth. He set it back down with an irritated look at his grand-uncle. 

 

"Almost," said Donovan. "Almost. One day you'll slip." He smiled.

 

Alain ate regardless, wishing he had it in him to be rude to the old man.

 

Cassiopeia and Cassius came in about two hours later. There was food kept aside for them, warming in the oven. "She's fine," said Cassie. "A bit heartbroken, but fine."

 

"Heart breaker," said Cassius, clapping Alain on the shoulder. "We got her pizza, ice cream and her girlfriends."

 

Alain shrugged, bemused. 

 

"You're a sexy idiot, all right," said Rowan. He checkmated Alain's king. "Emphasis on the idiot."

 

Boring game anyway. 

 

"Sore loser." Rowan got up. "Who wants ice cream?"

 

Donovan had left along with Havelock and Esme a little while ago, so it was just the four Casses, Rowan, Gilly, Weyland and Alain. Cassidy and Casper had been playing Pandemic with Gilly and Weyland. Rowan had enough of the paramedic lifestyle to actually enjoy the game and Alain was too competitive to be a good team player. He shook his head at the offer of ice cream, but Cassiopeia put her hand up for one. She sat beside him, leaning close.

 

"She's not part of the conspiracy to chain you, I don't think. Just a little crush that went too far." 

 

Alain shrugged. The conspiracy, if it existed, would have to eventually face his mother if it succeeded. 

 

"She sorry she pushed and she's hoping that you can still be friends." She then gave him a tight hug. "I'm glad there's still enough of you to refuse. I'd miss you."

 

Alain gave her a lopsided smile. You could offer, he signed. 

 

"Please. I've got enough sense of self-worth to know I'd be hurt if you rejected. I'm going to help Rowan with the ice cream."

 

The was a muffled curse that came from the kitchen. "I broke the scoop, sorry!"

 

"You're supposed to scoop out the ice cream when it's defrosted a little," Gilly yelled. Cassie was already running into the kitchen like it was on fire.

 

Alain leaned back. Pigeon was beside him, nestled in a throw blanket, eyes shut and head curled on his little chest. Alain leaned down and placed a light kiss on the tiny head. He got up and stretched, walking to the bookcase. Some light reading before bed would be nice. He'd found one of Cassie's paranormal urban romances and browsed through it for a kick. 

 

That's when the front door crashed in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up on Tuesday ;)


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: Torture

Mitsuki locked the doors of  _ Ninja Espresso _ once the last guest left. He tugged off his apron with it's embroidered patch that declared that he was Max and was happy to serve. Haruhi was at the register, totaling up their takings for the day. His apron said that his name was Harry and that he too was happy to serve.  Max and Harry, good American names. 

They cleaned up the cafe and swept the floors, readying the place for the next day's custom. They confirmed orders, restocked the front display and ran crockery through the industrial dishwasher.

Everything had to be normal, everything had to look like they were ready to open shop the next day. The brothers chatted about inconsequential things like the ice hockey game and the latest figure skating news from Japan. They exited from the back, locked up and got on their bikes and zoomed home. The skies were darkening overhead, but the normal peak hour traffic was abated by the fact it was a Saturday. They got home in good time and wheeled their bikes into the garage.

Home for the last few months was a warehouse. Inside were their equipment, and supplies and two vans. One had the cafe's logo on the side, the other was black and unmarked. Their sleeping area was in the center this, walled in by crates and vans.

It was almost blisteringly cold in the warehouse. Their breath frosted in the cold air and Mitsuki went straight to the gas powered heater and powered on. Blue flame licked up the tall tower and that's when he pulled down his scarf. Haruhi joined him, holding his hands up to warm in front of the flame.

"We really should have found an actual house with actual heating."

"As you have said, many, many times. " Haruhi sounded like he was getting tired of the comments. "Let us focus on the mission."

Mitsuki huffed. "It's a valid observation," he muttered.

"So, the group that came in today. Were you able to pinpoint which of them was St. James?"

"Oh please, as if it was that easy. They all look alike. We haven't seen the tall one yet, but we've seen the one with the pigeon. The only reason we're able to tell him and the other one apart is the damn pigeon." Mitsuki rather though the pigeon was rather endearing. They had taken several photographs of the Glenisle man with the pigeon. He was a rare sight, rarely seen alone and never without the bird. He rather intrigued Mitsuki. Pity they were going to kill a member of his family.

Haruhi grunted. While they couldn't set up residence opposite the Glenisle townhouse in South End, they did manage to install a motion operated camera on the rooftop opposite. The device took pictures of the residents and visitors of the townhouse as the came and left. Then there were times when the Okabe brothers themselves followed and surveilled the family members. They even listened in on conversations with long range microphones. Nothing that they had listened in to had led to any clue as to where Richard St. James the younger was hiding. That they even found out that he might be with his mother's side of the family was miracle enough.

"We can't spend anymore time on this." Haruhi shook his head. "We have to strike and strike now. We do not have the luxury to unravel this mystery. We cannot make this a hit."

"You're saying that we eliminate all the males in the house?"

"Yes, just the males. We at least know that St. James is a man, at the very least.

A truly elusive subject.

Mitsuki shook his head. "You are not one for mass murder, brother. You are worried that the clan will find us if we stay longer."

"Yes." Haruhi's answer was clipped. "The last I spoke with Kasumi, she had lost track of Kaito's movements. I am concerned."

Kaito had dodged their tracks through the years since they left the clan. The few times that he had caught up with them had been devastating in terms of loss and injury. 

Haruhi had a right to be concerned. 

He would not and had not hesitated to attempt to kill either of the brothers. Mitsuki knew that his brother was also right. They couldn't stay for long. They had to strike, then they had to leave. 

"Tonight," said Haruhi. "It will be tonight."

*

The camera pinged while they were in their preparations. They watched the arrivals and departures, noting when the older Glenisle family members had left. That's when they wrapped up and moved out. They took loaded the black van with their motorcycles for a quick escape and packed their gear up in the other van. The magnetic decals would be easily removed. They intended to leave the city as soon as the job was done. 

They drove across town, parked in a discrete spot, then as one, pulled on their hoods and masks. They waited in shadows for the house to settle a little. It would be more ideal if they could wait until the occupants had gone to bed, but then the visitors would leave. They could not risk one of the visitors being St. James and having him slip out of their grasp. 

Then the brother's attacked. 

Haruhi kicked down the front door with the strength of his Dragon's Breath and Mitsuki embodied the Wind of the Dragon and flew through the window.

That's when things went wrong.

*

It was one of the family stories that the first Glenisle woman landed on the American shores shortly before the Irish Potato Famine. It was said that she had received a vision telling her to go across the ocean and root the family in the New World. She followed the vision, selling her lands and bringing her eight children with her. She had seven sons and one daughter, and she had complete control of her sons' minds. She ensured that her sons married daughters from rich families, thus ensuing the wealth of the family for generations.

The result of this was that the Glenisle family had holdings across Boston and Massachusetts. The South End townhouse was one family owned property. Generations upon generations of the family had lived there, sometimes families, sometimes a gaggle of singles, all leaving their mark by amassing and leaving their unwanted collections and art pieces in and around the house. There was a purge every once in a while, but one such art piece, a particularly ugly bronze bust of Paul Revere, stayed in the house. It survived every purge and refused to budge from the building.

Alain had once thought the thing had been cursed and now revised his opinion. It was now sitting on the bookshelf, a child's plastic shades over it's face. Alain took the blasted thing and threw it at the man in black that burst through the front door. 

He didn't wait to see how the ninja recovered from that. He ripped out his belt and engaged the ninja that burst through the window. Perhaps they were shocked at the speed of his recovery, but Alain was easily able to bind up the ninja's sword with his belt. The trick that swordsmen hate is that they are only strongest at the hilt of the sword. They have the most with the most control and are able to exhibit the most strength closest to the hilt. If your opponent took control of the point of the blade, you have less than nothing to play with. This is what Alain did, he looped the belt around the tip of the sword then aimed a kick at the ninja's hand.

Disarm, he thought. Drop it.

No such luck. The ninja pulled back his sword and raised it high. Alain still had his belt. He lashed at the man's masked face with the buckle then came in with a throat punch. The man fell over with a muffled grunt. 

Adrenaline raced through Alain's veins, making him move like he hadn't in months. He instinctively ducked as the first ninja's slash, clearly furious at being attacked by heavy bronze representations of American figures. Alain rolled out of the way, keeping distance between himself and the swordsman. That's the thing about swords. They were only as effective as their reach. The best strategy was to always have a secondary weapon. 

Like the throw stars the ninja was flinging in his direction. 

Bad sport. The arch to the kitchen took the brunt of that attack and Alain lunged for the fire iron.

"Oh my god, Al, there's knives in the kitchen you could use!"

Alain grinned. There were two of them now. Throat punch had recovered and joined his partner. They were near identical in height and build. Alain would dearly wish to find out which one of them was "Max". 

That was when Weyland, dear young, keen and rather stupid Weyland, decided to commit suicide by yelling and running, a brass art deco flower vase raised high.

Alain winced. It was an original piece. 

The swordsman he was attacking turned. He knocked gracefully evaded the heavy vase as Weyland swung it at him, then tripped Weyland into the wall in an almost derisive move.

Alain and Throat Punch had already engaged. A poker iron was really nothing against a finely crafted sword. It was heavy, brittle and Alain may as well have been parrying with a millstone, especially since swordsmanship had never been his strength. His opponent was very good. He fought like he hadn't just received a very hard punch to the throat. He was wielding a straight blade sword, one with a single sharp edge, the so-called ninjato, favoured sword of the ninja. Where the katana had a curved blade that was designed to mow down hoards of unarmoured peasant fighters, the ninjato's straight blade and single edge meant it was made for draw cuts and stabbing.

This was good news for Alain. It meant that Throat Punch wouldn't be making huge swinging cuts at his poor iron poker. It also meant that he could switch to wielding the poker with two hands, going from an offensive stance to a defensive. 

Throat Punch thought he saw an opening. He thought he was winning. The thing was, Throat Punch and Bronze Bust both made a mistake the moment they stepped into a place of the Glenisles. 

As Bronze Bust was about to find out. 

Alain concentrated on the fight in front of him, trusting his cousin Cassie to have completed her preparations. He felt the power rise as she gathered strength from her brothers, the crackling air and heat that it caused. It made the hair on the back of his neck rise on end. 

Throat Punch may had noticed the gathering of esoteric energies. Alain saw his brown eyes widen and he pushed his attack. Alain could see where he was going with this. Throat Punch thought he could eliminate Alain then attend to his assailed partner. Alain fended off the flurry of thrusts, parrying with the poker iron with greater ease with two hands than one. Then he made a mistake. He held the poker at too high an angle, exposing his right shoulder. Throat Punch took the opening, skidding the blunt edge of the sword to guide the point into Alain's shoulder. 

His move was anticipated. 

Alain dropped low at the very last minute. He felt the sharp edge of the sword slice across his shoulder. Throat Punch swore as his sword plunged into the wall behind Alain. He didn't even have a chance to pull the sword out before Alain jumped at him.

You learn a lot about your opponent when you fight him. You learn what their favourite moves are, their recent injuries, how susceptible they are to their own stupid mistakes. Alain had learned that Throat Punch was trained for the quick elimination of his target.

Alain had trained under his father, the Monster. He was trained to disarm, to suppress, and eventually, to bring back his opponent to his base to be disposed of.

The man he was grappling with was shorter with a thicker, muscular build. He would have been better at blocks and strikes. He would have been very good at close combat. Alain was better at even closer combat. It took a few heartbeats but Alain was soon holding him from behind, expertly pinning him bodily and was slowly pressing his arm against his throat and creating a lock with his other hand gripping down on his arm. 

Throat Punch didn't like this. He struggled, trying to pull Alain's arm away from his throat. Alain could hear his pained gasps, feel the panic building in his body. Alain had always been trained to take down larger opponents. He anticipate all the tricks that Throat Punch could employ. He held on despite the desperate bucks and punches,  and the rolling on the ground and being knocked on furniture. 

There was far, far too much in the way of hardwood furniture in the living room.

The man in his arms grew weaker and weaker, until he was still and limp, his body slack. 

Alain pulled away, sitting on the floor. He was sure he was bruised all over. His breathing was rapid from his exertions but his eyes were bright and his grin was sharp.

It had been far too long.

He looked around to see Bronze Bust levitating in the air. He too had gone limp. He was then unceremoniously dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. The golden glow faded slowly from Cassiopeia's eyes. Her three brothers were fanned out behind her, their hands on their shoulders. The older twins dropped their hands as soon as Cassie stopped drawing from their strength. they also dropped to the floor, holding their head in their hands. Cass, though, he stepped up to wrap his arms around his twin. He buried his head against her shoulder as she struggled to come down from the rush that came from the gathering of power. Cass looked worse than his older brothers. His eyes were bloodshot and a thin trickle of blood ran from his nose. 

Gilberta and Rowan had both worked in hospitals and Rowan especially regularly encountered surly to violent crowds. Both knew how to keep out of harm's way in a fight. Rowan poked his head out, then went to examine Weyland, who was holding his head.

Alain ripped off Throat Punch's mask. It was Max from Ninja Espresso  all right. His lips looked blue but he was breathing. Pigeon flew out from his hiding place and started pecking at Throat Punch's face. Alain tutted and picked up the angry little bird.

"Alain, how are you?"

"Good. I'm very good." He felt good. He felt normal. He felt like himself. Alain stood. "I want to know why they attacked. Weyland. Rowan. Help me get them to the basement. Cassie, when you're recovered, I want the basement to be Quiet. Cassidy, Casper, we need something to cover the windows and the door. The cold's coming in. Gilberta, I need you to be ready. I'm going to get my kit."

Alain went up the stairs.

Casper swore. "I forgot what an officious little jerk Richard was." 

*

Alain brought down his tool case, and together, he and his cousins carried the two ninjas down the stairs to the basement. It was part games room, part cellar and part laundry. It had been renovated sometime in the last decade so the floors, walls and ceiling were of livable condition. There was a sturdy table there in the middle of the room, a bygone from another era. It could do with a sand and a new coat of varnish, but for now it sufficed as a card table. Around the table were mismatched chairs, comfortably worn and broken in from decades of service to the Glenisle family. 

Alain set his case on the floor by the table and helped his cousins secure the two ninjas at the foot and head of the table. They were tied firmly into chairs, arms to arms and legs to legs. Bronze Bust also had his mask removed. There was a familiar resemblance to the two men. 

Cassie made a face. "That's Harry from  _ Ninja Espresso. _ I'm so disappointed with myself."

"Don't be. I recognized Max for what he was. I made the mistake of giving him the benefit of the doubt."

He opened the case and started to lay out the tools of his trade. Tools with hooks, tools with honed edges, tools with serrated edges. One hammer. One chisel. The Monster hadn't believed in being a brash brute, just a subtle one. 

There was a strangled gasp from Weyland, but Alain heard someone lead him away. Weyland had never known Richard when he was alive, not really. He’d been of the younger set and Richard always gravitated towards his older cousins’ company. Alain surveyed his tools, then looked at the unconscious duo. He pulled out a wide plastic jar that he'd taken from the kitchen spice shelf and set it on the table. 

There. Done.

A light touch on his shoulder caused him to turn. It was Gilberta, moving her hand to rest flat on his chest. "Your shoulder," she said.

"It's fine. Rowan can patch me up soon."

"No, I will. You need stitches."

Rowan was already gathering his kit and he was waiting upstairs. He had almost everything necessary except plasma, but hopefully the duo won't be as stubborn as that. 

Or perhaps they will be. 

Cassie was going around the room, pressing her hand against the walls. They all had little abilities like that. Ivy could talk to birds. Cass could tell a lie from a truth, something Alain himself had in a lesser capacity. Cassie was a librarian at Boston U. She couldn't do large magics without her brothers but her quiet study areas were quieter than most.

The neighbours wouldn't be able to hear a peep even if they were pressing their ears against the wall.

Alain smiled at Gilly. "I'll be fine."

She slapped his chest. "Don't lose yourself, Al. Don't lose yourself."

"This is the first time I've felt utterly like myself."

"It's the adrenaline talking. When it drops, you'll crash. Don't push yourself."

"Perhaps." He turned and sat in front of his tools. "I think we're almost ready. You may begin stitching me up."

Alain hadn't bothered to gag either Max or Harry. He allowed them to stir back to consciousness as Gilly finished off the last stitch in his shoulder. She patted him on the back then left, Cassie at her side. Rowan and Cass would be at the door at the top of the staircase while other relations arrived to help patch up the damage to the building. It would have to be ply over the windows for now but a spare door was found and was being rehung as Alain sat there. He had turned his chair around, his chin resting on the chairback. 

He was smiling slightly. 

The duo woke, groggy at first, then more alert as their awareness rose. They were predictingly startled, first testing their bounds then looking for each other. Then they noticed him. Then they noticed his tools.

Alain closed his eyes, still smiling. A quiet man learned more than a noisy one, much like a quiet boy amongst chatty trees.

"Eeehhh, I see you want us to talk, neh?"

"Brother, shut up."

"Oh please, do you think those things are for show only? How are you going to start first? Is it ears? Or fingers? I will tell you this, you can do whatever you want to me, I will not talk."

Harry hissed at him, then said in Japanese, "Do not taunt him, brother. We are vastly under-prepared for this."

Max scoffed, replying in turn. "What is the worse that he can do? He has weapons laid out in front of him. Break loose and take one, brother."

"I cannot."

Alain opened his eyes. He stood, selecting one of his toys. (wait.) He enjoyed having their eyes on him, enjoyed the anticipation that churned in their stomachs. Alain had though he had learned what he needed, but he had to make sure. The tool he had picked up was chosen for its macabre wicked hook. He dragged it on the table top, enjoying the slow scratching sound it made. He worked his way around the length of the table then continued running the curve of the hook across Harry's back. He held himself stiffly while Max smirked. Alain continued, dragging the hook's point on the tabletop, then across Max's back. 

Harry jerked against his bounds, ever so slightly, before he controlled himself.

Yes. Very good. Alain could work with this. 

He set the hook down on the table and walked around to stand behind Harry. Alain could see that he hated that. He strained his neck to look behind at Alain. Alain pulled out his belt then snapped it taut between his hands, enjoying how Harry jerked in surprise at the sound. Max, though. He was amused. He wanted to see how far Alain would go. Well. Alain was happy to comply. He rolled the belt around his hand and walked around the table until he was then standing behind Max. Max looked back up at him, a small smile playing on his lips. Then Alain looped the belt around his neck and pulled it tight against the chair back and secured it there. Max gasped for air, secured against large movements. Harry was straining against his bonds. 

"If you hurt my brother, I will kill you," he said, snarling.

Alain shrugged. 

"If I hurt him, it will be because you haven't given me the answers I require."

He picked up a knife. It was small, silver and polished to a high shine. It was also very sharp. 

"Tell me. Who sent you and who were you sent to kill?"

"You won't break us this easily," said Max. Talking was difficult for him. His scarf had tugged down, revealing the jagged scar in his throat. No wonder he was so sensitive around that area.

"I don't need to break you." Alain inclined his head at him. He looked at Harry and smiled.

Then he stabbed Max in the arm.

Both brothers yelled, Max in pain and Harry in anger. 

"All I need to do is to break your brother." Alain raised his brow at the furious Harry. "Remember, this doesn't need to happen. Tell me what I need to know and you both will go free. Your brother doesn't need to suffer just for your pride."

"Don't shame me, brother," said Max. 

"My cousins are a paramedic and a doctor. They are just outside this room. They will come and patch up your brother and then you can go. He doesn't need to suffer but he will pay if you don't answer my questions."

"If we give you what you want, you will kill us," said Harry.

"You don't know me at all." He looked at Max and tore open Max's shirt with one movement.

Max was suddenly conspicuously silent. He sucked in a breath of air and looked like he had encountered a revelation.

"The more you keep silent, the more your brother will bleed. You are the only one with the power to stop all of this."

Harry didn't say a word.

"I can make him bleed for days. I was taught the fine art by a master, the Monster. You don't want to test me." Alain grinned. "But please do. It's been a very long time."

Neither brother said a word.

"Very well."

*

Mitsuki had become deliriously lightheaded.

He was running on a high of pain and fear. There were cuts of varying lengths and deepness in his chest, bleeding from more than a dozen wounds. throat was raw from yelling. The basement was strong with the smell of blood and urine. Mitsuki had really lost control when Alain pressed a handful of rocksalt into his cuts. 

That had been truly diabolical.

That first knife in his arm wasn't the only thing in him. There was some surgical pliers delicately holding back flaps of of the skin on his chest, exposing the white bone of his ribs.

There were other knives too.

This had been truly excruciating experience.

Mitsuki had lost track of the hours and minutes. He couldn't even confidently say that it was the same day. His head lolled if not for the belt around his neck.

Haruhi was going to shame him. His brother was leaning forward, sobbing.

Mitsuki had to stay strong.

Alain's fair hands were stained with his blood, stained as they pressed against a gushing wound. He peered down at the sight of his own blood seeping through Alain's slim hands. Mitsuki knew that this was just another technique designed to break his brother. He couldn't help the next words that came out from his mouth.

"Wow. That's hot."

Haruhi sobbed raggedly. "Stop. Stop. You have broken him."

"Perhaps. Who sent you and who were you sent to kill?"

"Heeeyyyy, pigeon man. Hey," said Mitsuki, slurring. "You think you wanna go grab a drink with me after? Carve your number on my arm." Seriously, those hands were beautiful. 

Alain looked at him like he was some sort of new bug. 

Haruhi the idiot made a bigger fool of himself.

"Stop. Stop this. I'll tell you anything. Don't kill my brother."

"I'll call," Mitsuki said, weakly. "I'll buy. No hard feelings."

"Richard St. James," said Haruhi. Big ugly tears were running down his face. "We were sent by Richard St. James to kill Richard St. James. Please stop."

"Richard St. James is dead. I am he," said Alain. 

The last thing Mitsuki noticed was how adorable Alain's blurred face looked.

*

Gilly and Rowan ran in, Cass and his brothers at their heels. Alain shoved his tools into a metal mixing bowl. With the exception of the hammer and chisel, they were all covered in blood. He would have to clean them before keeping them away. He'd cleared the table just in time for Casper and Cassidy to cut the zip ties holding Max up and they hauled him onto the table. Rowan then went to work trying to staunch the blood flow. 

 

Alain then released Harry from his chair. The shorter man looked up at him, eyes wide in shock. Alain pointed with his knife. "Attack any of us and they will stop."

He left without an answer.

There were other people in the house now. It was full morning outside. He'd worked all through the night. A breakfast buffet had been set up. Glenisle cousins of various ages mingled around the front rooms, chatting and laughing.

Then they saw him. 

"Oh my god," said Ivy.

Alain looked down. His white shirt, bare forearms, his mixing bowl of tools. There was blood everywhere. He laughed a little. 

"I'm sorry. I am not presentable. Excuse me."

He went up the stairs, up to his room on the third floor. He set his tools in the shower, then began to wash his hands. Cassie soon joined him. She didn't say a word as she helped him tug off his shirt. She carried away his stained clothing, his shirt, pants, socks and shoes. 

Alain suspected she was going to burn them. 

He stepped into the shower and looked at his hands. They were so stained. Even scrubbed with soap, there was still dried flecks under his nails.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been there. He was still in the shower when Cass pounded up the stairs. 

"Rich-" he stopped himself. "Al. They need you. He's lost too much blood."

Alain snapped out of his trance and stepped out of the shower. He barely had time to dry off and tug on the clothing Cass tossed at him. He was about to head down when Cassius stopped him. "Alain, are you okay?" 

"No." His honesty surprised him. "I think I'm going to crash. I don't know when. I'm starting to disassociate." Even now he was starting to feel the reticence of heading down the stairs, to the crowd in the living room. "But I'll do this one thing."

"Okay. Good. Let's go."

They raced down the stairs and down into the basement. Someone had given Harry a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate. He was sitting to the side, his distressed emotions for the world to see. He started up when Cass and Alain pounded down the stairs, but settled when Esme, who was stand beside him, laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Sit. Do not worry," she said. "Alain is O negative."

The conflict was evident on Harry's face. Fear, hate, distrust and very faintly, hope. "You would give your blood to my brother after you almost killed him?"

A little part of Alain smirked back. He settled by the table and offered his arm to Gilly. "It kills you, doesn't it? Now you owe us. Now you owe me. Now you really can't kill me and collect your reward. Not without compromising more of your honour. Hmm?"

Gilly pinched his arm. "Behave."

Alain gave one last smirk, laid his head back and closed his eyes.

Sometime later Esme touched him on the shoulder. Alain started awake. Pigeon was in his lap, cooing softly as he slept. "Your mother is on the phone. She wants to know if they're still a threat."

Alain shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Can you talk to her?"

Alain examined his feelings. "Yes, I think so." He held his hand out for the phone, casting a glance around the room as he did.

Someone had mopped up the floors and put a blanket on Max. Harry was asleep sitting up in his chair, Rowan and Gilly were nearby talking softly. Donovan was the the doorway, looking at him. 

Alain gave his grand-uncle a nod and held the phone to his ear.

"Mother?" His mouth was suddenly dry. There was silence on the other end, then he heard a slow inhale of breath.

"My darling, I missed you."

"I miss you, too, Mother." His throat was starting to tighten, threatening to choke his words away again as a gut wrenching sense of shame rose and enveloped him. "Have to go, sorry, have to go." He shoved the phone back at Esme, shoving his fist into his mouth, trying to breath, trying to keep the silence away.

He didn't notice Max's eyes flickering open and then looking at him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next update will be on Saturday :D


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: depressive character

 

The brothers stayed in Rowan's room until Wednesday. They had gone sometime in the night, the bed and the camp cot were neatly made when Gilly went to check on them. 

"Do you think we'll see them again?" asked Cassie. 

"With luck, we won't," said her twin.

The both of them knew that the events of the weekend would continue to haunt the members of the household for a long time. They were especially concerned about Alain. 

Their cousin seemed back to normal, his normal, the way he was before his breakdown five years ago. He laughed and smiled, and he was brash and arrogant. His humour was sharp and his eyes were lively. 

Gilly was staying over, sharing Cassie's bed. Cassie knew that Gilly, too, was worried. Gilberta made certain that Alain wasn't neglecting his meds when he was in this, for lack of a better word, high. No one, not even Alain himself, trusted his change of mood. 

Alain crashed the day after the brothers left. He was rinsing dishes in the sink when he stopped and looked at his hands. Cassie had been watching over her cousin for years. She knew what the signs were. She was only surprised Alain lasted this long.

"Alain," she said, calling out to him. "Alain, look at me." She was the only one home at the time. Alain acted like he hadn't heard her. 

Then he started screaming. He covered his face and he screamed and sobbed. There were words mixed in with his cries. She picked out 'father' over and over and her heart clenched tightly. It always came back to this, to the duty he performed for the family.

Cass came rushing back, alerted by the silent call that she sent out. He dumped his groceries on the counter and together they held Alain between them. He calmed, curled up and exhausted, all brightness and life had faded from his eyes. He continued to be listless in the oncoming days. 

"One step forward," said Rowan, ever exhausted. 

Gilly shook her head. "He should have never been sent to his father. I don't know if he'll recover from this. He needs Alice."

"He won't let her see him. You know this," said Cass. They were all in the kitchen, sharing a cup of hot chocolate. Alain was on the couch in the living room, sleeping fitfully. "I've applied for a leave of absence from the U. I'll be here. Maybe I apply for nursing next. That'll pull the pressure off the two of you."

"Oh for Christ's sake, Cass. Pick a subject and finish it," said an exasperated Rowan. 

"No." Cass smiled serenely. He was twenty-nine and a professional student, proudly having never completed a degree.

Ivy lifted her mug and drank, a mustache of cream on her upper lip. "What are you guys talking about? I mean, Mom and everyone at the House say I'm too young to understand. I'm almost twenty-one. What was Al trained for? Why is nobody freaking out over what he did to the  _ Ninja Espresso _ guys?"

Gilly miserably stirred her hot chocolate. "We are an old family, Ivy. We are large and we are gifted."

"Yes, I know that."

"Sometimes, Ivy, we have enemies. There are other old and gifted families. Some of them think that we have secrets and will attack us for them. In every generation, we have a sin eater. Someone who will do what needs to be done. We forgive what our sin eaters need to do. Uncle Donovan was a sin eater. He's retired now. Aunt Alice is our sin eater. She should be retired now. Alain is our sin eater. He should be training a new one, he should be out there, taking over from Alice. Or he would be, if only his training didn't break his mind."

"But his mind isn't broken. He closed off from me."

"Yes, he's always been strong like that. Some bastards are just born with thick shields," said Rowan. "Remember when he used to go by himself into the orchard? He said his grandmother gave him a pear."

Ivy's mouth gaped. "He's got a pear?" she whispered. "A pear from an old tree?"

Gilly nodded. "It's still up there in his room. The one under the glass cloche."

"Has he tried eating it? Maybe it'll cure him!"

"Ivy, what Alain has is psychological and emotional trauma. Magic can't help that. He needs therapy. Sadly, since he's gone mute again, that's not going to happen."

"We have strong empaths, though."

"Through his shield? We do what we can but he’s too paranoid to let anyone in. Maybe he'll never recover. Maybe this is as good as it gets. He's stable, he's social when he can. He's not a danger to anyone. Aunt Jillian can't fault that."

"Why would she? Surely she wants the best for him."

"She does. She thinks the best thing would be to chain him."

Ivy's mouth was a silent O. 

They heard Alain stirring in the living room, the creak of the sofa and the padding of bare feet on polished boards.

"Right, enough of this depressing talk." Cass turned and prepared a mug for Alain. "Let's talk about Christmas instead."

There was a groan around the table. 

"Excuse me, we love Christmas," said Cassie. She made room for Alain at the counter. He was in an old shirt and sweats, a blanket from the sofa wrapped around his shoulders. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was in need of a trim. Pigeon was perched in his hair like it was a nest. He accepted the warm mug of cocoa, and watched silently as Ivy dolloped spoonfuls of rich whipped cream into the mug. He held it, but didn't drink from it. 

"Al, want to help me go shopping?" Cassie noted how his shoulders curled and his head ducked lower. "That's a no then. Online shopping it is."

"I was thinking we could make gifts. I'll have lots of time now I'm not studying. Al could help me with brownies and fudge."

Alain only gave a heavy sigh and a nod. He laid his head on the polished granite of the countertop and closed his eyes.

"Oh he could just sit there and keep me company. That's more help than a cat would give, hey-yoooo."

They eventually got Alain up the stairs and into his bed where he curled around Pigeon. 

*

Christmas came and went. He went to the House with everyone but he was allowed to spend most of the celebrations hidden in the library. When he could, he sketched, and when he had less energy, he read. Other than that, he slept and encountered his nightmares, the shades from his past deeds that haunted him daily. 

The New Year's saw little change in Alain and nothing else came from the attack in early November. Weyland did say that  _ Ninja Espresso _ had reopened for business, but he hadn't dared to go in. Alain had no opinion on whether there would be another attempt on his life. He merely existed. 

He knew that the others were sending reports to his mother. He wished he could reassure her, to talk to her, but every moment in her presence always brought out a deep, debilitating sense of shame. It was almost physically painful to even talk to her. He sent her a text on occasion, but always hid the phone for fear of a reply. 

Alain remained grateful that she always understood. They were of similar minds to many things, even what to get each other for Christmas. He fingered the silk square he'd received from her as a gift. He'd also given her a silk neckerchief scarf. The design on the one she gave him was a swirling pattern of many soft shades of grey, and every so often, there would be a slight hint of red thread in the pattern. Red had always been Alain's favourite colour. Now, though, it had the tendency to set him off on when he's in certain moods, just one of the many prices that he had to pay for his training. 

Alain sighed and turned onto his back. He twisted the scarf around his hand and wrist, taking comfort in the soft fabric. It was large enough to wrap around his neck and small enough to be used as a pocket square. Like all things from his mother, it was perfect.

He fell asleep, Pigeon pressed against his side. 

It lightly snowing the next day, but Alain felt strangely energetic. He found that he could actually get out of bed and shower. He found he could shave and brush his teeth and he found that he could pick his own clothes and dress himself without outside encouragement. He examined the tall, thin young man in the mirror. The hair was a fright was tamed with a little product, and the eyes were still dark.

Alain looked around his room, and found that he was sick of it, cosy and comfortable though it was. He took his pills, picked out an overcoat, hat and gloves, fitted Pigeon with a little flight suit, and packed his sketchbook and pens into an inner pocket of his overcoat and filled an outer pocket with corn for Pigeon. Lastly, he wrapped the silk scarf around his neck. 

Alain felt strangely optimistic, like some foresight was telling him that this was going to be a good day, which was ridiculous as he didn't have that ability. Nevertheless, he perched Pigeon on his shoulder and jogged down the stairs. He could hear Cassius in the kitchen, arguing with a video recipe he'd found online. He was out the door with a "Alain? Was that you?" following him as he closed the door. Once on the doorstep, he stopped and breathed in the brisk air. There were people on the sidewalk despite the cold weekday, but he still didn't feel his anxiety rise. Alain had only intended to go as far as the park across the street, but now he had the sudden urge to see open water. 

He found himself making his way to Back Bay. He would have liked to have gone to the marina to check on his yacht, but even he knew his own limits. Sitting on the banks of the Charles River would have to be the next best thing, and it was only a half an hour walk.

Alain never noticed the figure in black peel away from the side of a building and follow him.

Pigeon enjoyed a flew flights as they walked, to the amusement of passerbys. He always found Alain no matter how far he'd gone, landing on his shoulder and preening for a moment. He accepted a piece of corn then was off again, taking the opportunity to stretch out his wings. One particular blast of wind made him have second thoughts and he finally landed on Alain's shoulder and ducked into his coat for warmth. 

"Silly pigeon," Alain murmured. He kissed the little head, quite surprised at the sound of his own voice. He navigated the narrow roads of South End and turned onto Dartmouth Street. From here it would be one straight route to the river. He got a mocha and a pasty to go at a Starbucks. He wasn't particularly hungry, but thought that he had to do something to replenish his lost weight. Maybe he could go to a gym if he could convince Cass to come with him.

His good mood carried him all the way down the rest of the street. The wind was biting, but his coat was warm. Pigeon was like a little core of warmth in his chest. He crooned and tried to preen Alain's neck every so often, arranging imaginary feathers. He headed over Storrow Drive by the overhead pedestrian bridge and then he was at the Esplanade. The river must have iced over during the last storm, but there were cracks where the ice was thin. He hoped there were boats at one of the docks on the other side of the river. If he couldn't see his own, then maybe the next best thing was to sketch others. He knew just the spot, too, under some willow trees near the west end of the esplanade. There was a bench there, under the currently leafless trees. There was grass underfoot, but it was streaked with patches of white snow. He brushed the bench and set his coffee down beside him, along with a small pile of corn so that Pigeon could also enjoy the morning.

Alain took a breath and closed his eyes. It felt like all his anxieties had been melted by the pale winter sun. He took a sip of coffee, and opened his sketchbook.

That's when his entire mood came crashing down. It was like a dam had been holding back all his concerns, his worries and the hatred he held for himself and his training.

Alain didn't remember when he'd sketch out the images, but there they were, sketched by his own hand, the things he had done to Max. Page after page were detailed sketches from memory. The incisions he'd made, the patterns he'd cut, the way he'd pried open the his skin to reveal the ribs. 

Alain sat and turned page after page, feeling the dread and the horror that rose from his gut and took control of his limbs. 

What had he done?

Oh what had he done?

With trembling hands, he tore the pages from the book and stood. He went to the water's edge. The river was still flowing  on this side of the bank, all ice had been melted away. He cast each page into the river, one by one, watching the water soak the thick paper and carried the pages away before they sank to the bottom of the river.

He did so until he had one last page in his hand. It was of Max's face, eyes wide, streaked with tears and somewhat fearful, but his grin, his grin was pure dare.

Alain looked at the page, gripping it with both hands. He didn't notice the approaching crunch of snow until someone was standing right beside him.

"Hi!"

Alain looked up, recognizing the accented rasp. 

It was Max, of course. He was grinning widely. He looked at the drawing in Alain's hands and whistled. "Did you do that? It's a good likeness." He then took it from Alain's limp grip and folded it carefully into his pocket. He stared out at the river beside him. "It's a nice day, isn't it? The wind is terrible but there's some sun. It's a nice day to be out for a walk." 

Alain didn't answer, only looked at his gloved hands. 

"I'm going to sit on that bench, want to come and join me?"

Somehow, that's what Alain did. Max put Alain's still hot drink in his hands and sipped his own as he ignored Pigeon as he did a little territorial dance around his corn. 

"Coo-croo," said Pigeon. "Coo-croo."

Alain gripped his take away cup like it was his last link to sanity. Max busied himself by flipping through Alain's sketch book.

"These are really nice. You're really skilled."

Alain didn't answer. The dread in his stomach wanted release. 

Max was undeterred. "So, this is your fault, you know."

Yes. Alain did know.

"You didn't carve your number in my arm like I asked."

What?

He looked at Max, incredulity in his face.

Max grinned back.

"I mean, that's why I've taken to stalking you. You've left me no choice. You haven't been out in a month and I can't exactly break into your house to demand a date, now can I? It gives the wrong impression to your relatives."

Alain wondered if Max was indeed insane.

"I was serious. You're pretty cute. Come for a drink with me. I'll pick the tab since, you know, you saved my life and all."

What was going on?

Max blew out a breath. "You're a tough customer, you know that? Okay, I'm not weird. Let's go get coffee and talk, then you can decide if you want to go get drinks with me. I mean, drinks and dinner. It's going to be nice. And," he now looked serious. "you owe me." Max nodded. "That's right. You owe me a date for the torture and stuff. I'll pay because you were nice enough to give me your blood, but that's why you have to go on a date with me, because of that hell you put me through." Max winked. "It'll be fun."

Alain thought that he might be dissociating. Max was talking and he felt like he was having an out of body experience. He felt such a disconnect that he couldn't even feel the numbness in his nose from the wind, he couldn't hear Pigeon making his little territorial coos at Max and he definitely couldn't hear his own blood pounding in his ears.

"Oh wait, I haven't introduced myself," said Max. "My name is Mitsuki. Mitsuki Okabe."

He waited for Alain to introduce himself in turn. 

"It's your turn," he prompted. "I mean, it's only polite. I know your name, sure, but it'll be nice to hear it from your mouth."

Alain swallowed. He was surely in the presence of a madman. The only weapon he had on him was his silver butterfly knife. Mitsuki, he knew that it was never going to be Max, was stronger than him, especially now when Alain was in a weakened state. 

He picked up his sketch book and penned a single word. 

What.

"Tsk," Mitsuki chided. "That's not your name." He looked at Alain and Alain looked back, shocked out of his own head enough to study the other man in turn. Mitsuki was as he remembered. His hair looked freshly done, the silver bright and clear and hadn't bronzed over, and this time there were faint lavender streaks that highlighted the grey. His eyes were brown, his tan a little paler but he still looked well-built under the thick bomber he was wearing. He didn't have the bright eyes of a manic, Alain thought, and it was early yet, but Alain thought that Mitsuki lacked the characteristics of a psychopath. He could neither discount nor fault sociopathy, on the other hand since he, himself, was one. He wondered what Mitsuki saw, and thought that he might guess.

"You really do look like shit," said Mitsuki. "You haven't been well?" Concern. Empathy. Honestly, that's all Alain asked for in most cases. 

Alain blew out a breath through his nostrils and wrote, Alain Glenisle on the page. He picked up Pigeon and tucked the little bird under his coat.

"That's not your name. Something happen to your voice?" Mitsuki reached out as if to tug Alain's scarf down. Alain jerked away from the unfamiliar touch. Mitsuki shrugged. "It's cool. My throat was cut, too, you know."

_ Richard St. James is dead. There is only Alain Glenisle. _ Let him figure that out on his own. 

"You're not going to talk? You spoke well enough that night."

Alain stood and left. He clutched his sketchbook and marched off. The nausea returned, his teeth felt cold. He needed... He needed...

Behind him, Mitsuki swore then ran up. "Hey, hey, wait up." He caught up easily, and turned Alain, gripping him by the arms. "You're shivering," he said. He gripped Alain's head to look at his face. "Are you sick? Do you need a doctor?"

Alain pushed him off and walked off, slower this time. He heard Mitsuki catch up again. They walked in silence though he could feel Mitsuki's occasional glances. Eventually he slowed to a stop, Mitsuki stopping beside him. He stepped off the path so as to not inconvenience others. He looked at Mitsuki, who looked calmly, if curiously back.

Alain wrote,  _ I cannot talk _ . He couldn't explain any further. There was not enough time in the day to describe how his throat clenched, how his tongue twisted, how the words in his head refused to form in his mouth, how even if he wanted to scream he just couldn't. It was sometimes as if his entire voice box just decided to disconnect from himself, other times as if he lacked the connecting software between his head and his mouth. 

Mitsuki nodded. "I'm sorry for upsetting you," he said. "I talk a lot. I don't take time to think." He winked. "Let's go find a cafe. That Starbucks stuff is foul. I only just realized that. Barista school changes a man, makes him tougher, meaner and strangely, more vulnerable to the mercies of bad coffee."

Alain was surprised by his amused huff.

"Yes, we put great effort in our long term stakeouts," said Mitsuki, lifting his nose into the air. "Brother and I went to barista school. We learned to roast and brew coffee and steam milk. We are the finest of method actors." He grinned at a Alain. "I wanted us to open a rug shop. I was going to call it Carpet Diem."

Alain grinned in silent laughter. 

Mitsuki offered a paper bag. "You left your pastry behind. I mean, it's from Starbucks and it's barely edible, so I understand where you're coming from." 

Alain huffed again, taking the bag and tossing into the nearby trash barrel. That might have been a mistake. He hadn't had breakfast yet. 

Mitsuki grinned widely. "Great! Coffee with me it is. I think there's a few places on Dartmouth that we passed by?"

What was there for Alain to lose?

They found a pub on Dartmouth that was open for brunch and while they had no real hope for good coffee, at least the meals were hot. With his coat on the chair beside him hiding a roosting Pigeon, Alain stared at the menu hoping for french toast or pancakes but the only thing on the weekday menu that he could handle was avocado toast. He had no real appetite for meat after the fierce reminder of what he had done to Mitsuki. Mitsuki, on the other hand, ordered a duck hash. They made their orders and sipped their coffees.

The coffee was indeed bearable and passed Mitsuki's exacting standards.

Mitsuki smiled at him, brown eyes dancing with wicked thoughts.

"You have to tell me. How easy was it to play with Haruhi's head? That's my brother, by the way."

Alain huffed again, shaking his head. He hadn't expected the question. 

"Ohhhhhh I knew it. He was dead soft, wasn't he? A complete transparent dummy."

Alain snorted. He wrote,  _ It was pretty easy. He telegraphed very loudly that he cared about you. _

"Pffffffttttt he's a complete thick-head. You know, he had to cut my throat before he realized that the clan was a terrible place for the both of us?"

Alain made the sign for  _ what? _ It was a pretty universal sign.

"I know, right?" Mitsuki took a sip. "I mean, sure he cares for me, but would you look at that hardened warrior. He breaks in six hours." He rolled his eyes. "You would think he would be at the very least working to break his way out of the zipties. Like, you know, how we were trained." He lifted his mug at Alain. "You did a very good job at keeping him distracted."

Alain felt the corner of his mouth tug up at the praise. Mitsuki grinned like he won a prize. 

Alain wrote in his book,  _ All healed up? _

"Hah! Yes. Your doctor cousin gave me a lot of antibiotics and lots of painkillers, but I heal up quickly.  Got some nice scars, though." He winked. "And I have to say though, getting injured knocked back our plans. I may as well tell you that brother and I are outcasts of the clan and there's a few who want us dead. We were going to skip town after we had finished you off." He paused to let the server deliver their dishes to them. He was facing the kitchen while Alain faced the door. Alain smiled at the server in thanks and Mitsuki waited until she had passed before continuing. "That was the plan anyway. Now we figure that it's best if we stay here for a few more months, at least until they catch up again. At least we've established fortifications and street routes. We know the city pretty well now. Any attack will be on our terms." Mitsuki nodded.

 

Alain nodded in turn. It was a sound plan. He looked at his meal as Mitsuki dug in. It was more than avocado on toast. It was avocado on toast with poached eggs, and a tomato and radish salad on the side. It looked too rich and heavy for his stomach. The nausea had passed, but it still felt like his stomach would churn up anything he tried to put in it. He tried, regardless, cutting a small square of toast and smearing some avocado on it and then chewing slowly. That stayed down so he tried some of the poached egg with the toast. It was delicious. Everything was well prepared, even the tomato and radish, though he had to push them off into the napkin by his plate.

Mitsuki was eating like his life depended on it. He ate like a campaigning soldier, neatly and efficiently but very quickly. He was already done with his plate before Alain was halfway through his. All that was left was his toast, and this he picked up and nibbled at slowly. His eyes were never still, darting each way and that, but trusting Alain to watch his back as he did the same. 

It was an oddly touching gesture, ingrained habit though it was. 

He raised an eye when Alain pushed the salad away as if he were some sort of salad hating school boy but he only shrugged. Alain did have weirder characteristics. Alain could also tell that Mitsuki was busting to talk, but he was well mannered enough to wait until Alain's hands were free to reply. He didn't have to wait long. Alain could only eat half the contents of his plate. He set the cutlery aside, not explaining. He preferred that Mitsuki think that he'd eaten earlier. 

"So. So. I have to know. What's your weapon? You had training with the sword, I could tell, and that was jujitsu you pulled on me, I can tell. I must have bruised you badly but you held on. That was well done. You didn't even know I had the throat injury."

Alain shook his head. He really didn't know. He only went for the throat because it was a vulnerable target. He wrote as much.

Mitsuki laughed. "I'm going to have to start wearing a brace of some description." He grinned. "Haruhi is pissed. We don't often come across jujitsu practitioners. It's a sport style meant for one on one. It's not lethal enough." He laughed at Alain's raised brow. "Not quickly lethal enough. But what's your weapon?"

Alain made a pistol with one hand and pretended to fire off a shot. Then he mimed a rifle with both hands.

Mitsuki grinned. "That's sexy. When will I see you in action?"

Alain reached for his pen. _ Semi-retired,  _ he wrote.

"Bullshit," said Mitsuki. 

_ I am. _ Alain tapped his head and wiggled his finger at his temple.

Now it was Mitsuki's turn to give him an incredulous look. "Uh huh. That is a good story. You are very sane. I know what insane looks like." He took a sip. "They can be as pretty as you, but not as well controlled."

Alain felt his lips tug into a slight smile. Mitsuki looked like he was an even bigger lottery prize. 

He clapped his hands. "So! Let me take you out? Please?"

Alain leaned forward, writing.  _ You already tried to take me out and you failed so badly. _ He added a little :P to the end of the sentence.

Mitsuki groaned. "Cursed American idioms. They will destroy me. Okay, I will rephrase. Let me take out on a date for dinner. Where do you like to eat? I'll bring you? Please, I want to know more about you. Also, if you're worried, I'm not some sort of masochist. I don't like pain at all. And if you're a sadist, I guess you can say no to the date."

Alain gave him a steady look. He wrote  _ I don't hurt for fun  _ in his book.

Mitsuki blew out a breath and grinned. "Aaa! That is good news. I was a little worried because you were very good." He tapped his finger rapidly on the tabletop, a little restless mannerism. "You know, I was going to stab you just now, when you were on the bench. You were sitting so peaceful, it made me angry. Then you turned out to be as fucked up as the rest of us. I like that. It means you're normal."

Alain snorted. He knew that he was anything but.

"Hey, I'll promise you something. I won't try to kill you again, I won't attack your family or your bird, and if Haruhi tries, I'll stop him. How's that for a promise?" Mitsuki grinned widely.

Alain tilted his head and gave him a long, considering look. He sensed nothing but the earnest truth from Mitsuki. He shrugged and wrote his number down, tore it out of his book and handed it to Mitsuki. Mitsuki looked like he was going to fall out of his chair. "Tomorrow," he said. "Is tomorrow good? I have to do the closing for  _ Ninja Espresso  _ tonight. That was me, by the way. The name of the cafe." He grinned, wide, toothy and happily. "You won't regret it, coming out with me. You'll have such a good time. Do you have a helmet? Motorcycle helmet? It's okay if you don't. I'll steal Haruhi's for you. Oh you have one? Good. Dress warmly." Mitsuki sat back, beaming. Alain smiled back too, tired from his excursion but happy. Strangely rarely, happy. 

Mitsuki walked him back to his street and from there Alain went home. He was met by a very worried looking committee and a flurry of questions about where he'd been. He wrote in his book, tore the page out, and handed it to Cassius. He then went up the stairs, abandoning his cousin as the bearer of strange news.

"Oh my god," Cassius' voice came the stairs. "He says he's got a date."

A chorus of questions erupted.

"He's got a date with that ninja." 

Alain smiled widely as he reached his room and closed the door on the uproar.

It really was a good day after all. 

Now he only had to worry about what to wear for the following evening. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this!
> 
> Next chapter will be up on Tuesday 20th


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: a cute date

One dinner became three and Mitsuki was thereafter a regular visitor to the South End townhouse. 

"Love what you have done to the place," he said once to Cassie in passing. "But it looks a little trashed. You should see to that." Alain dragged him away before Cassie could retort. 

"Didn't you try to kill us all that one time," asked Rowan.

"Yes, but I've changed my ways and am now reformed," Mitsuki replied, sharpening his tanto. 

Rowan only shrugged and went back to his room. 

There was a general air of "Alain knows what he's doing" in the household that Mitsuki found both refreshing and confusing. Apart from that one time when the doctor cousin demanded that he undo his shirt so she could examine his wounds, he hadn't been harassed at all. She gave him a clean bill of health and a disgusted snort. "You're very lucky he wasn't trying to kill you, you know."

Mitsuki nodded. "Yes, he's very skilled, very good with his hands. He has very nice hands," he added, dreamily. Dr. Glenisle gave him another disgusted look and gave the large scar on his pec one last prod. It was tender, he had to admit, but it had healed up well. 

"Have you been working out? You should be resting the muscle still." 

"Yes, but only lightly. I focus on my legs for now. I am of the thought that I'll work on my arms and shoulders more next month."

Dr. Glenisle gave him a suspicious look. Mitsuki attempted to look innocent.

The cousin that looked like Alain poked his head around the door. "Lie." He was grinning like a loon. Mitsuki liked him. He like mischief makers. 

Dr. Glenisle poked him in the chest. "Go easy or you will tear the healing flesh. You're free to go."

The mischief making cousin still had his head around the door. "Hey, while you're there, do you hold any ill will towards Alain?"

Didn't he already go through this with Alain? "I do not," said Mitsuki. It was clearly the most obvious thing in the world.

The cousin gave him an intense look, one that Alain gave him sometimes. He nodded. He nodded again at Dr. Glenisle and the withdrew.

Damn. The family had truth tellers. Thinking back, he figured Alain also had the skill. It didn't matter if Mitsuki didn't owe the family any ill-will. Truth tellers had a way of taking fun out of mischief.

They were in the kitchen with Mitsuki sitting on one of the tall stools at the counter. Dr. Glenisle handed him his shirt back, then held out his mug of tea. It was a decent oolong. Not his favourite, but not a leaf that he hated. He drank a lot of oolong when Haruhi and he were in Taiwan, enough that he yearned for a nice grassy sencha, the least favourite of the tea they served in the old clan.

"You can go visit Alain, but he's asleep, so don't wake him. It's not often that he has a restful sleep."

Mitsuki raised his brows. "Ehhh? He has the sleep where he wakes up tired, then?" He meant it in half jest, but Dr. Glenisle nodded. 

"Too often.  His room is on the top floor, to the left when you get to the top. His door should be open." 

Thus dismissed, Mitsuki took to the stairs, his heavy motorcycle jacket and cloth wrapped sword in hand. No one batted an eye though he knew that they recognized his disguised weapon for what it was. His socked feet were light on the polished wood of the stairs, even as he moved quickly. Alain's room was right where Dr. Glenisle described, and Alain was definitely sleeping peacefully in his bed, curled around his bird. Pigeon was dozing but woke and with a curious coo when Mitsuki stepped in.

It was late in the afternoon, a little past four thirty, he had to say. The days were still short and the wind still biting but the past few months hadn't been bad, all truth be told. The warehouse was arctic cold outside the warm circle of the gas heater but it had been the longest that he and Haruhi had been in a place and it had become a home of sorts. He kept the drawing he took from Alain under his pillow in his sleeping bag, and there were other little mementos he'd picked up along the way. Little things he intended to take with him when it was time to leave.

Mitsuki huffed. He was being sentimental in his old age. The next thing you knew, he would want to settle down in single place. And as he looked at Alain, the stray thought entered in his head that it would be very nice to settle with Alain.

He shrugged himself out of the mood and looked around Alain's room. There was a large window that had a great view of the houses across the street, and if he craned his head, he could see the little park to the side. There were shelves and shelves of books, a shelf that displayed a collection of empty scotch bottles of various shapes and sizes, framed photographs, knickknacks and weapons. There were a lot of weapons in this room. There was an unloaded gun by Alain's pillow, collections of knives on every shelf, and scatterings of spent bullets in decorative jars. 

It almost escaped his attention. There, in the back of one of the lower shelves, was a photograph. It was folded over and pushed partway behind some books. It looked like Alain, and Mitsuki pulled it out to check. It was Alain, a younger, happier, Alain. He was wearing a smart suit and held a rifle aloft and had a mask of some sort dangling from his fingers. Mitsuki unfolded the picture and saw that Alain was standing beside a short Chinese man. They were grinning at each other.

Mitsuki felt a surge of envy. He could barely get a slight smile out of Alain and here was this little dude who was getting a full on grin. He shoved the photograph where he found it before he could tear it in half and went over to the bed. He settled himself gently down, the mattress barely sinking under his weight, and sat up in the bed. He took out his phone to browse, not really intend to nap, only spend some time with Alain even if he was asleep and couldn't appreciate it.

Or maybe he did. Alain made a soft fussing sound and settled when Mitsuki touched his hair. It was very soft, a lovely medium gold in colour. Alain's lips tugged in a small smile, and didn't that just melt away the bitterness in Mitsuki's heart. 

Okay, he had this and it was beautiful.

* 

Alain woke about an hour later, arm flung over Mitsuki's lap and his face buried in his side. Here, Alain discovered several things. Mitsuki's body was very hard and very strong. He smelt like spice. He liked playing with Pigeon. As he stirred, he heard Pigeon make aggressive little coo-croos and he raised himself on his elbow to see Mitsuki spar his finger against Pigeon's little bitey beak. 

Mitsuki smiled at him. "You're awake. You're about to see Pigeon defeat me." And Pigeon did so, with pinpoint accuracy. He snapped Mitsuki's finger and clamped down hard. Mitsuki swore and laughed, lifting his arm up. Pigeon dangled, wings spread open, little beady eyes bulging with victory. Alain huffed and gently tugged his little friend off Mitsuki's finger. Pigeon let go and wiggled free to land on Alain's back. He danced over Alain, making little territorial coo-croos.

"I apologise, Pigeon-san. I did not mean to intrude on your property." Mitsuki grinned, bowing slightly. He felt Alain's shoulder's shake in amusement and felt another spike of triumph. He nudged him. "Do you want to go out tonight? I have been hearing about this tourist trap that has decent food? It is called Quincy's?"

Alain yawned and sat up. He scratched his hair and reached for Mitsuki's wrist to check the time. It was a little after five thirty. The skies were already dark outside. He rubbed his face and nodded. Alain tugged at his own shirt then pointed at his walk-in closet and the bathroom.

"Hai! You could do with a wash and a change. I didn't want to tell you because I was being polite."

Alain snorted again, smacking Mitsuki on the leg as he crawled over him. Pigeon held on to the back of Alain's shirt, batting his wings for balance. He flew off when Alain pulled off his tee shirt, and Mitsuki got one intriguing glance of a bright yellow and orange tattoo on Alain's shoulder blade before he disappeared into the bathroom.

Mitsuki wished he got more than a glance because he liked what little he saw of Alain's back and wanted to see more. 

Also, feed him. He really shouldn't be able to see the outline of ribs.

Mitsuki got his wish a little later when Alain stepped out of the bathroom. He had toweled off, but he was very naked and very casual about it. In the brief moments before he disappeared into the walk-in, Mitsuki caught a good look at the long, lean body. Alain had broad shoulders for his frame, and long limbs to match his long body. His skin was fair and smooth, except for the various scars on his body. 

Mitsuki clutched his phone. He hoped he wasn't staring. He hoped he wasn't being weird. He hoped, really hoped that he could do more than just watch. He also wished he could start breathing again before he suffocated. Mitsuki drew in one desperate breath and coughed. Alain poked his head out to check on him, but Mitsuki gave him a thumbs up. Alain was sadly clothed from the waist down, but his chest and stomach were very nice. His arms too. Then he was too soon gone again back into the closet. 

Mitsuki adjusted his jeans. He was going to die, he thought. His balls were going to expand and choke all the blood from his body and then he'd die. This would be their fourth date and he'd hadn't gotten more than an affection touch to the arm or the occasional nuzzle or hug. Most guys he's been with had their hands in his jeans before the second hour. Mitsuki rather thought it was residual trust issues, but there should have at least been a kiss by now. 

He looked at Pigeon who had claimed the other pillow as his nest. There were no answers from the bird, only a tiny suspicious glare. "You are no help," he muttered. Pigeon only fluffed up, settled deeper and closed his eyes.

Alain came out of the walk-in wearing thick black jeans and a white shirt under a black knit sweater. He was shaved, his hair was left to dry styled because of the impeding motorcycle ride, and he was carrying a pair of heavy combat boots in his hands. He looked so good that Mitsuki just felt like getting down to his knees and nuzzling at his belt, but didn't know if that was welcome just yet. It was so hard to read Alain sometimes. Then he pulled on his boots  and smiled at Mitsuki, who suddenly found that it wasn't so hard. He grinned back. "Hey there, handsome. Are you ready?" He enjoyed the slight blush in Alain's cheeks. Alain nodded and grabbed his own motorcycle jacket and helmet. Pigeon woke, cooed and flew to perch on his shoulder. Mitsuki's heart skipped a jump when Alain selected a pair of extendable batons to hide under his coat.

They trooped down the the stairs, down to the ground floor. Alain's two female cousins were there. Mitsuki thought one of them was Dr. Glenisle. She was certainly wearing the same clothes. 

"You're going out on the motorcycle in this weather?" The other female cousin asked.

Alain nodded and shrugged.

"Why don't you take Alain's car?" asked Dr. Glenisle.

"Ahhh....I didn't know that was an option?" Mitsuki scratched the back of his head.

Alain shrugged again, went to a bowl of keys that was sitting on a hall table and extracted a set. He tossed it at Mitsuki.

"Alain doesn't drive," explained the doctor cousin.

Mitsuki looked down at the Corvette logo on the keys and grinned. "I don't think it'll be a problem for me."

Alain looked smug at his pleased expression. They left their helmets behind, Alain changed into a different coat and then they left. Alain's car was parked at the back of the house. The brownstone was the last house in the street, leaving a little room for a small driveway. There were couple other cars there, packed in the back. Alain's was closest to the entrance and clearly saw more use because of that. They pulled the snow cover off and Mitsuki whistled. The car was a sporty Chevrolet in bright yellow. Just the sort of car that Mitsuki would have liked for himself. Alain had that smug look again, taking pleasure from Mitsuki's enjoyment. He gestured that Mitsuki open the doors then slid into the passenger seat. 

Mitsuki settled himself behind the wheel, grinning. He had questions. Oh he had a lot of questions. He wanted to know why Alain didn't drive his fine vehicle. He wanted to know what his demons were. He wanted to know if his lips were as soft as they looked. But right now, he wanted to know how fast this thing went. Still, he restricted himself to the speed limit. 

The trip wasn't silent. Mitsuki could talk for the both of them, and he could drive and pay attention to Alain's silences at the same time. It was definitely not a sullen silence. He was used to that from Haruhi. It felt like a quiet, happy silence. Just two guys on a date, nice and normal. He was going to suggest that they walk to the Boston Common after dinner to ice skate maybe, or just walk in the dark and snow. 

Maybe Mitsuki could even show off a few moves, earn a little smile from Alain, maybe a sparkle in his eyes. Yeah, that was a great plan. He made good time, the normally 12 minute drive just taking 25 minutes. He found a parking spot in a nearby garage and they walked over to the market. He told Alain about his plans for the night and they seemed well received. The market was filling up when they got there, causing Mitsuki to hum.

"Hey, why don't you find us seats? I'll go get the food. What did you want? I was going to get some chowda." He grinned at that very Bostonian pronunciation. 

Alain looked up at the ceiling in thought. He pulled out his notebook and wrote, Something vegetarian or with little meat.

It was on par with his requests. 

Mitsuki nodded and they parted. It was fifteen minutes later when Mitsuki returned with tray of food and Alain waved at him from the top floor of the dining area. He had a good view of the crowds below him as he had found a seat overlooking the lower area. Mitsuki joined him with a grin. 

He had two bagels for Alain. One with cream cheese and the other was with bacon and avocado while he had a clam chowder and a lobster roll. They talked as they ate, or rather Mitsuki talked and Alain wrote short notes in his notebook as he picked at his food. That was one thing that bothered Mitsuki. Alain wasn't a picky eater, not really, but he did notice on bad days he couldn't handle anything that was red. On worse days he couldn't eat meat. What he had, Mitsuki thought, was a disinterest in eating. That struck Mitsuki as being wrong as he thought Alain rather liked food. That was when Mitsuki got the idea to take his little plastic fork and cut Alain's bagels into bite size pieces.

Alain blinked in surprise then laughed silently. "There! Now it's easier for you to pick at your food." Mitsuki winked. He rather thought the trick worked. He felt the warmth of satisfaction as Alain ate more of his food when it was it bits rather than as a whole. 

That was when Haruhi stepped up to their table. He had a plate of pizza and a cola and he was frowning. 

"Brother," he said in a tone that promised pain to Mitsuki. "May I ask what you're doing?" His eyes flickered at Alain. Alain looked amused, and smiled lazily like a cat. 

Mitsuki snorted and leaned back, one arm along the railing. They were in public. Haruhi wasn't going to start anything. "What does it look like, brother? I'm having dinner with my boyfriend."

That caught both their attention. Alain blinked then smiled. Mitsuki wished he had the chance to appreciate the smile because it was so unexpectedly sweet. Instead he had to pay attention to his dumb brother's outrage.

"Boyfriend? Him? Have you forgotten what he did?"

"No more than I've forgotten what you did." Mitsuki raised a brow at him. 

That took the wind out of his sails very nicely. Haruhi stood there, deflated like his pizza. Mitsuki found it in him to take pity on him. 

"Grab a chair and join us." He glanced at Alain to see if he was all right with that and it seemed that he was when he gave Mitsuki a slight smile.

Haruhi cast a suspicious glare at Alain, who maintained an air of disinterest. Alain had taken up a plastic knife and was casually spreading cream cheese over a small piece of bagel. The little knife was moving back and forth in a lazy manner. Mitsuki wondered if he were thinking about how he could use the bit of plastic as a weapon. Alain was holding the knife loosely in his hand. He knew that Alain liked going for weak, vulnerable spots when he fought. Mitsuki wished he could see Alain in action but felt that he would need to stop any attack aimed at his brother. It was sad, but he had to look out for poor Haruhi. Alain then took a small bite out of an already small bagel and Mitsuki looked back at Haruhi. His brother was frowning at him.

Mitsuki beamed back. There was a strong family resemblance between the both of them. It wasn't as strong as the Glenisle's could be. They had the same brown eyes even if Haruhi's tended towards stern frowns, and he styled himself differently too. He wore his hair with an undercut and in a looped top knot, a style that either put him in the hipster set or as a samurai wannabe. Mitsuki knew which box his brother put himself in.

Not one to waste food, Haruhi tore at his slice of pizza with bad temper. He glared at Alain with hatred.  _ "He almost killed you," _ he said in Japanese.

_ "Forgiven, brother, does not mean forgotten." _ No. He could never forget. He could never forget when there were scars on his throat and chest. He just chose to take them as reminders that he was in dangerous company always. Mitsuki switched back to English. "He wouldn't have harmed me if we hadn't attacked first." His foot found Alain's under the table and tapped playfully. Alain smiled back at him, appreciating the game.

Haruhi continued. "And because we failed to fulfill our contract, his father will now target us, and this one is a murderer and a liar. He understands Japanese and you didn't know that."

Mitsuki snapped head at Alain's direction, and resting his chin on his hand and Pigeon on his head, Alain smiled like a kitsune. Haruhi made a disgusted sound. That was when Mitsuki realised that Alain was actually flirting with him. He grinned back and turned to his brother. "Tell me more about my boyfriend, brother."

Haruhi growled under his breath. "This one's father will kill us, Mitsuki."

Alain snorted. He wrote and turned his notebook towards them and they bent to read. 

_ Father is dead. Richard St. James, my father, has been dealt with. I have seen to him. It was very likely an automated command that set bounty on me at the time that it did. _

"How do you know he's dead?" asked Mitsuki curiously. 

"What is wrong with you, are you too superior to talk to those whom you defeated?" Haruhi earned a sharp kick from Mitsuki for that. He bent to rub his leg and frowned. 

Alain's only answer to Mitsuki was a long pointed look. Patricide should not have made Alain more attractive, but somehow it did.

"Well, brother, there we go, we have nothing to fear."

Haruhi sneered. "I find that hard to believe."

At that moment, the noise of the food court below began to raise above a murmur, then there was yelling. The three men looked at each other, frozen in the moment. Then the windows on the floor they were on burst in and dark clad figures burst in wielding and waving their weapons threateningly at everyone on the floor. Someone screamed, then they attacked. 

"You were saying something about having nothing to fear?" Haruhi sprung to his feet, pulling out a pair of nunchucks, spinning the other blunt end rapidly. 

Mitsuki wasn't far behind him and was pulling out his sword from it's cloth case. The case and the sheath inside it clattered to the ground. "Please, brother, these are clearly our foes." The Okabe brothers immediately pressed their backs together in pure instinct as their training over took their quarrel. Mitsuki didn't have time to see what became of Alain before the ninjas advanced and jumped at them. The brothers were ready. Mitsuki met a pair of advancing sai with his sword and quickly disposed of them.  He ducked and dodged, then sank his sword in the middle of his opponent's chest. He heard his brother fighting and fending off his own enemy. Mitsuki heard the heavy thuds of the nunchucks and the sound of his brother's own formidable techniques of disarming and disposing of his opponents. Mitsuki thought he might have heard Pigeon cooing above head, but he couldn't hear Alain. 

He fought someone else, another masked and faceless clansman. Was Kaito sending green novices at them? Did he think so little of the Okabe brothers' skills? Mitsuki dispatched this opponent with the same ease as he did the other ninja, then the next and the next. Finally he caught a glance of Alain. He had his extended batons in his hands and he was weaving in and out of the fight, causing confusion and chaos. At one point he drove an enemy ninja into Mitsuki's sword then disappeared again. 

Ah, Mitsuki understood. Alain used whatever weapon he had access to, and Mitsuki had become one of his weapons. Well, Mitsuki was happy to play the part.He pulled his sword out of his enemy then stopped and stared at his sword.

"Misuki!" He was pushed to the ground as a heavy body slammed into him. Haruhi stood over him as he fought off three ninjas at a time. The nunchaku spun and stuck at the middle foe then Haruhi wrapped the chain around the next ninja's sword and neatly twisted the weapon out of his hands. That one also received the business end of the nunchaku to the back of head, caving his skull in. The last one, Haruhi took out without even looking behind him. He reached down and hauled Mitsuki to his feet. It was short lull in the middle of the fight when they weren't being attacked. There were pockets where the ninja were attacking civilians, and there was where Mitsuki could see Alain, fighting like lightning as he stood in front of a group of teenagers. 

Mitsuki paused before running to join him. "Brother, don't you think it's strange that none of them are bleeding?"

Haruhi grit his teeth. "Kaito has gotten powerful." But Mitsuki was already running to Alain's side. They defeated the four that were on him and then there was quiet. Alain Mitsuki turned to the group of scared teens. "Go," he said. "Go now while there are no more enemies."

"Right, good show, man," said one boy, his voice trembling. "Scared the life out of me."

"Yeah, that was so realistic," said a girl, mascara running down her face. 

Mitsuki sighed. "Go on, it should be safer now," he said, gentling his voice. 

Then Haruhi started shouting in Japanese at the top of his voice. "Kaito! Where are you? Your enemy is me!"

A pause in the noise of the fight down on the lower floor and a black tide rose up the stairs. 

Alain cracked his neck and started pushing the teens and other civilians to the back of the room. 

"This is a show right? Tell me it's a play?" 

"C'mon, Jason, just like they taught us in drills. At least it's not guns, right?"

Mitsuki shook his head. "Go hide behind the tables if you can. We'll lead them away if we can." Then he and Alain went to stand beside Haruhi. Haruhi frowned at Alain but didn't say a thing. The darkness approached and slowly, coalesced into the shape of a man. He stepped up to their floor and stood with the stairs behind him.

"Good evening, cousins," said Kaito, speaking in Japanese. "You are foolish to have stayed in one place for so long. You should have run, like the cowards you are. I have caught up with you and-"

He didn't have a chance to finish what he was saying. As Haruhi snarled and Mitsuki gripped his sword, both caught between fear and embarrassment, Alain lobbed a fastball of pure light at Kaito's face. Kaito screamed, his hands clutching at his eyes. The moving shadows around his body fled with his broken concentration, leaving him only in his street clothes. 

Alain fell to his knees, gasping painfully, but Mitsuki couldn't stop to see if he was fine. He and his brother flew at Kaito as one fighter. They drove him back as he retreated, blinded. He turned and stumbled away but not before he blindly flung out a handful of shadowy throw stars, manifestations of the last of his strength. Haruhi and Mitsuki jumped out of the way, easily evading the sharp stars. The dark clad ninjas started disappearing into clouds of dust and when they were gone, so was any trace of Kaito. 

"Mitsuiki," said Haruhi. 

"I need to check on Alain." He left his brother and raced back up the stairs, heedless of Haruhi calling out his name. He found the civilians coming out of hiding, looking scared and somewhat fearfully at him. Then Mitsuki saw Alain on the floor, clutching something small, dark and red against his chest.

Pigeon was hurt.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five and not even a smooch! This is terrible service, I demand to see the chef.
> 
> Oh wait.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying, folks! Next chapter's up on Saturday. 
> 
> (I'm sorry if this project is not as witty. In the war between volume vs wit, wit loses out)


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: shower sex

Mitsuki hustled Alain out of the foodcourt and out of the building. He'd bundled their weapons away and ducked their heads low. Haruhi was somewhere in the crowd. He'd lost him somewhere but wasn't worried. His brother could take care of himself. Alain had his full attention and Alain was was beside himself. He looked so close to panicking that he could barely communicate. He was clutching Pigeon's little body to him, pressing his woolen hat towards the slice across the pigeon's breast. Pigeon, himself, had his eyes open but was quiet. He looked weak to Mitsuki's eyes. Mitsuki rushed them out of the building, elbowing other people in the crowd out of the way. The police were arriving but he avoided them and moved Alain and himself quickly to their parked car. There, he plugged in a search for the nearest twenty-four hour animal hospital. There wasn't one within twenty minutes.

Mitsuki bit down on a curse. 

That was when Alain's phone rang. Alain made a distressed sound and Mitsuki reached and answered it. "Yes?" The caller ID said it was Gilly. "It's Mitsuki. Alain-chan... he cannot talk."

"Is he all right? He pulled power from us. What happened?"

"He is uninjured. Pigeon is hurt. I need the number for a bird doctor. I can't find one nearby."

Gilly paused for a moment. "Come back here. I think I heard of a vet clinic that does housecalls. What is wrong with Pigeon?"

"I think he got cut on the chest. I don't know if he's got other injuries."

"Yes, come back here, the both of you." She hung up.

Mitsuki set the phone down. He put his arm around Alain and gave him a brief hug. "Do not worry, that was Gilly. She said for us to go home and she'll call a vet over." He gave Alain a quick kiss on the temple then drove out of the parking garage. Mitsuki swore that the fifteen minute drive took longer despite that he took every short cut he knew. Gilly, or who he thought was Gilly, was waiting at the front step when they arrived. She helped Alain out of the car they all went in. With one hand on Alain's face, she peered into the bundle in his hands. It was only then that Mitsuki saw the wet tear tracks on Alain's face. He shuffled closer, embarrassed he hadn't realised earlier.

"Let me take him, and you go sit with Mitsuki on the sofa. The vet said she'd be here in twenty minutes, fifteen minutes ago."

Alain made an inarticulate sound of distress and Mitsuki looped his arm around his waist. Alain made another sound and let Gilly, whom Mitsuki just realized was Dr. Glenisle, have Pigeon. Pigeon's eyes were still open, but he was too still for Mitsuki's liking. She took him gently and went to the dining table where there were tools and bandages laid out. 

Mitsuki let him to the large sectional and they sat, his arm firmly around his tall American. There was one of the male cousins there, the one that looked like Alain the most. He was pretending to read from a recipe book. He waited until they had settled then touched Mitsuki on the knee. 

"Can you talk about it?"

Mitsuki drew breath then looked blankly at him. 

The cousin stared blankly back then smiled sheepishly. "Cassius. I'm Cassius."

"Okay," said Mitsuki, knowing he was going to forget soon. "Alain wasn't the target. It was myself and my brother. He just helped."

"He found alongside you and he was fine?"

They looked at Alain. Alain was not fine. He was rubbing his eyes, wiping the tears away, and sniffing.

"He was fine until Pigeon got hurt," said Mitsuki.

"Yeah, that goes without saying." Cassius looked like he was going to say more but then shrugged and leaned back against the sofa. The vet arrived while they were talking. She was fairly short with a round face, a comfortably plump body and a kind smile. She was talking quietly with Gilly and they set to patching Pigeon's wound. They didn't take long then they looked liked they were preparing Pigeon for travel.

Gilly came and sat down on the coffee table in front of Alain. She held his hands. "Dr. Mehta would like to take Pigeon to an avian vet. She knows one who is willing to come in after hours. She's patched Pigeon up but we'd still like to be certain he'll have the best care."

Alain sniffed loudly and he wiped away the large tears that rolled down his face. 

Mitsuki really wanted to kiss those tears away. 

Alain nodded, though, still crying. Gilly rose and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll go with her. Keep your phone nearby."

Then they left.

Mitsuki just held Alain as he sobbed broken-heartedly, pulling him to lie partly in his lap. Cassius gave him a thumbs up, to which Mitsuki just rolled his head back. He patted Alain and held him until he calmed down. Mitsuki was glad. His jeans were soaked. This had to be the worst date yet. He stared up at the ceiling, barely acknowledging Cassius as he put two mugs of hot chocolate in front of them, trapped in a state of ineffectual ennui. 

Cassius checked on Alain, then gave Mitsuki another thumbs up. He was going to cut that thumb off. 

"I think he's gone to sleep." 

Mitsuki flung his head back again. "He's not going to move until Dr. Glenisle has sent word Pigeon is okay."

"True, just thought you'd like to know." Cassius shrugged and went somewhere else. 

Mitsuki was left to dwell on the disaster that was the evening. 

He was never going to get laid.

No, he was going to be lucky if Alain agreed to a fifth date. He was going to be lucky to get a kiss before the tenth date. He was going to grow old and die before he was going to get laid.

Alain's phone notification broke him from his reverie and woke Alain up as well. The really-sexy-despite-the-heavily-sobbing-earlier-American started awake in an adorable manner and looked at the message his phone received. He lifted it up to show Mitsuki.

_ Pigeon is being kept overnight,  _ said the text. _ The facilities are good, there's a nurse at the clinic in case of complications. I'll be home soon. _

Alain had replied with a series of sad emojis.

Mitsuki sighed. Too fucking adorable. He prodded Alain in the shoulder. "We should get you to bed."

Alain gave a morose nod and led Mitsuki up to his room. Once there, Mitsuki took his boots off and stretched his toes out. Wearing shoes indoors was driving him crazy. Alain sighed heavily, tossed his phone on the bedside, and fell face down into bed. Mitsuki patted him awkwardly. "I'll let you go to sleep. I'll be back tomorrow." Alain opened his eyes and reached out to pinch his sleeve. He tugged down.

"You want me to stay?"

Alain nodded, his eyelids fluttering shut. 

"Do you want to sleep in your jeans?"

Alain made a noise then sat up and pulled off his shirt, then shucked off his jeans and boots.

Mitsuki stood, starring. 

Alain looked at him, brow raised.

"Eeeeeehhhh I need... I need to get my spare clothes from the bike. I'll be back!"

Mitsuki grabbed his jacket and ran down all three flights of stairs. He jogged out the front door, barefoot over the cold and icy pavement and retrieved his set of emergency clothing and the little brown bag he'd hid in the small storage pocket, then ran back in. Cassius poked his head out of a second floor door, curious at the noise, then retreated back. 

There was silence in Alain's room. He was under the covers in his bed. Mitsuki padded in, unable to feel his toes from the quick jaunt outside. He surreptitiously stored the brown bag into the bedside closest to him. Then he too stripped and got into bed.

Not a bad end to the day afterall.

*

Alain found himself in the rare position of having woken from a good night sleep. Mitsuki was pure warmth and comfort at his back, his arms were thick and heavy around Alain. He turned in them, enjoying the warmth of Mitsuki's closeness. Mitsuki snored lightly, his face now pressing into Alain's shoulder. Alain lay that way for a while, taking in the scent and feel of Mitsuki against him. He dozed then woke. The room was strangely empty without Pigeon's little noises. His poor little pigeon. He was going to have to ask Gilly if he could go visit.

His thoughts flashed back to the moment the shadowy throw stars flew up from the staircase, he saw one arched upwards, right into his little bird's flight path. Alain could have stopped it. He could have if he had been stronger and faster. He had to be, to protect his little friend. 

Sighing, he left the warmth of Mitsuki's embrace. He moved around the room, collecting the gear he needed to start training. He felt good, strong, the lethargy of his mind hadn't bloomed yet today. He dressed in some running sweats and found his running shoes even. Mitsuki blinked awake from his varied quiet movements and yawned. 

"Are you going for a run?"

Alain nodded.

Mitsuki sat up, scratching his hair. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Alain thought about it then shook his head. He pointed at Mitsuki and mimed that he should go back to sleep.

Mitsuki thought that was a good idea because he fell back onto the pillow. "Take your phone with you, Rain-chan." Alain smiled at the nick name and did as asked. Mitsuki was already snoring when Alain left the room. 

He didn't take very long for his run, just fifteen minutes by his estimation. There was a note on the kitchen counter when he got in. It was addressed to him. It was from Gilly and it had the details of the vet and it said that it should be find to go visit Pigeon after noon. 

Alain needed some good news in his life. He found that a small smile had made it to his lips. He made some coffee using Rowan's beloved machine and went up to his room. Mitsuki was out of bed and in the shower, singing a popular J-Pop song. His voice was raspy, but he could carry the melody and it was nice to listen to. He left the mugs on the bedside, took his pills and walked into the shower after kicking off his running gear.

Mitsuki stopped singing the moment he entered the small room. Was he embarrassed about his voice? Alain would have told him that he had a good voice and that he didn't need to worry. He stripped off his running sweats and joined Mitsuki under the shower. His shower was set over a large spa tub, there was more than enough room for two men. He grabbed his shower gel and started soaping up. Mitsuki was very still, very quiet. Alain opened one eye and peered at him. Mitsuki looked equal parts terrified and ecstatic. He was caught in conflicting emotions and he didn't know what to do.

That was when Alain looked down and notice Mitsuki's very prominent and erect penis. He brought his gaze back up at Mitsuki's face. Mitsuki swallowed. 

"We have not talked about sex yet," he said, hesitatingly. "We have not even kissed yet. I don't know if you are waiting or you like to go slow. I mean, both are fine, yes? I mean, it's just a surprise when you walked in. I didn't know we were that intimate yet, and now you are naked in the shower with me, but you don't seem interested in sex, which I understand, you just want to get clean, but you are very beautiful and I am making an idiot out of myself, yes?"

Alain tilted his head at him. It was near impossible to hold a conversation with Mitsuki when he didn't know ASL and when Alain didn't have a notepad with him.

What he could do was to take Mitsuki's face in his hands and lean in for a kiss. Which is what he did.

Mitsuki squeaked, surprised, then returned the gesture. 

It was really, really nice.

Alain loved the intimacy of exploring mouths and tongues. He loved the closeness and trust needed for nibbling teeth. He loved mapping out with his mouth the part of Mitsuke that was always so active and vibrant. No, that would be weird, as Mitsuki's most active and vibrant features were his eyes, not his ability to talk when nervous. 

Mitsuki's mouth explored his in turn. Eyes closed, Alain could only guess at Mitsuki's expression, but he could tell he was smiling. 

They pressed close against each other, skin slick from soap and the shower and Mitsuki was so very warm. His erection was fully rigid and pressed against Alain's hip. Mitsuki seemed unaware he was making small rocking movements against Alain's body. Alain only chuckled and pressed Mitsuki against the cold tiles. Mitsuki hissed, but recovered when Alain dipped his head to claim his mouth again. Then he laughed into Alain's mouth when he turned the shower off. 

"But now I will be cold."

Alain's hand closed around Mitsuki's cock. There was no more talk about cold as Alain toyed with the sensitive glans by the foreskin over the crown, then he stroked down to cup Mitsuki's balls. They fit in his hand very nicely as he cradled them, then caressed his way back up to stoke Mitsuki's cock. Mitsuki was indeed as noisy and talkative during sex as when he was nervous. He encouraged Alain, gave instructions and gripped Alain's narrow hips close. He moaned lustily, deeply, then moaned urgently as he reached his climax. His cum was hot and sleek as it painted both their stomachs and his mouth was very pliant when Alain bent his head to kiss him. 

Mitsuki smiled lazily after a while, his own hand moving to curl around Alain's penis. Alain let him, amused himself by nibbling on Mitsuki's ear. Mitsuki was still sensitive enough that his body was interesting and fun to play with, that there were still moans Alain could draw out of Mitsuki from little ticklish spots that he had yet to find. A chance brush across Mitsuki's nipples revealed that he was quite sensitive and and still open to contact.

Alain soon came without much fanfare, a soft sigh signaled his release. He nuzzled Mitsuki's wet hair, then turned on the shower again. 

Mitsuki was looking up at him, frowning. "You didn't like that?"

Alain shrugged, reaching for the soap.

"Was I too rough?"

Alain sighed. He'd never been able to fully hid this part of himself from the (very) few lovers he'd had. He took the shower gel and wrote on the tiles "ACE".

Mitsuki swore. "Oh c'mon." He looked like he both won the lottery then lost it in the same heart beat.

Alain snorted, pressing a kiss to Mitsuki's hair again. He really didn't see the issue.

"I like sex," said Mitsuki. "I like sex a lot. I like it when it involves a partner too. And you're my partner, and you don't like sex."

Alain snorted again. He traced the word "BORING" on the tiles. 

Mitsuki groaned. "That's even worse." He was about to talk more when Alain pressed a finger to his lips. 

_ Later, _ he mouthed. 

"Yeah," said Mitsuki, morose and crestfallen. "You can't talk now."

Alain shrugged and kissed him again. He definitely thought Mitsuki was being silly, and this idea followed them out of the shower and into the room. He toweled off as Mitsuki sat on the bed and stared at him morosely. 

"Can I suck your dick? You know, not now but sometime?"

Alain paused and went to the whiteboard. _ Boring,  _ he wrote.  _ And slobber all over my cock? It's really gross. _

Mitsuki looked like he was about to start crying. "I love sucking cock," he said in a wretched voice. "It's my favourite thing in the world. Do you like fucking?"

Alain wiped all the words off the board except for "boring" and added,  _ But it's fine if you want to fuck me. I can read a book maybe. _

"It's not fun if you're not having fun," Mitsuki wailed. 

_ No one's been bothered by that in the past, _ wrote Alain.

"Of course not. They were all probably selfish dicks."

Alain looked like he was going to protest then stopped short and started to look thoughtful. 

Mitsuki groaned. He stood and went to wrap his arms around Alain. "Rain-chan. I don't want to do anything that you don't enjoy." He lifted his chin to rest on Alain's shoulder. It was really nice when he snaked his arm around Mitsuki's waist. There was a moment's pause, then Alain wrote again.

_ I don't mind giving. I find it fun making you groan. _

Mitsuki sighed. "Of course you do. You love manipulating people. That's why you found it easy getting into Haruhi's head."

Alain looked like he had another revelation. 

Mitsuki planted a kiss on Alain's neck, right on the pulse. "You're just lucky I like receiving too. Think you could break me, Glenisle?" He knew he fucked up the pronunciation. "Alain" and "Glenisle" were very difficult words for him. The best he could normally do with "Alain" was "A-ran". "Rain-chan" was a much better nickname, he thought.

Alain's answer was to look at him and smirk slowly. It made his cock jump. 

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

*

They had their coffee and carried the mugs downstairs. Gilly was already there, as was Cassius and his twin sister (was it Cassie?). There was a plate of croissants and dishes of spreads and one large glass jar of honey on the counter. Everyone was gathered around the counter and they made room without fuss, passing over spare plates to Alain and Mitsuki. Mitsuki liked this, the casual camaraderie between the cousins. Alain dropped a croissant on his plate before reaching for one of his own.

"Please pass the oversized bottle of honey," said Mitsuki. 

Cassius snorted. "One of our cousins keeps bees. It was a good harvest year for him." He pushed the jar across to Mitsuki. 

"Yes, but that does not explain why the jar is so big."

"He was out of little ones?" Cassius shrugged. He turned to Alain. "You would not guess what this useless gay did last night." He pointed his butter knife at Dr. Glenisle.

"Hey!"

Alain raised a brow. 

"She came home with the vet last night, invited her in for coffee."

"It was professional courtesy."

"And they sat on the couch talking all night."

"Dr. Mehta is a very interesting lady and she had very intelligent things to say."

"I was in the kitchen, not eavesdropping, you know." Cassius winked. Alain nodded understandingly. "And you know what I heard Dr. Mehta, "call me Manissha", said?"

Mitsuki spread butter over his sliced croissant, not even trying to hide his grin. "No, please go on."

"She said, it is very hard for us independent women. Sometimes we have to make the difficult choice... please our family, or make our decisions for ourselves that will cause our families to disown us. Then she put her hand on Gilly's knee."

They looked at Dr. Glenisle. Her fair skin was bright red. "That's not what she said," she squeaked. "It's not like that. She was just being friendly and we were talking about careers and family expectations."

"Uh huh." Cassius said. His twin had buried her face in her arms, her shoulders shaking silently. 

"She isn't!" 

Rowan ambled out of his room, pulling on his shirt, yawing. 

"Is this like the time that theater chick "tripped" and stuck her tongue down your throat?"

"Yes! No! That was an accident! She was really apologetic!"

Mitsuki watched in fascination. He wondered if Dr. Glenilse would get any redder. 

"Gilly, my love, nobody trips and falls to land their tongue in someone's throat," said Cassius' sister. She was still laughing, her face behind her hands. 

"Samantha did! You should have seen her after, she was mortified!"

Cassius waved. "The fact of the matter is, our dear Gilberta only smiled prettily then said the worst thing."

"Hmmm?" hummed Alain, practically the closest that Mitsuki had heard him vocalise anything since that fateful night. 

"She said, very cheerfully, well, it's getting late, we've wasted the night away and you've still got a long drive home."

"Sweetie, no."

Mitsuki wheezed. He was trying to be polite. It was rude to laugh at one's physician. No one else was as polite. 

"Oh god," said Rowan. "My sister is a useless gay. I am so upset." He covered his eyes, laughing. 

Alain shook his head at her, and stole her croissant. 

"You are all very mean," wailed Gilberta. 

"You are thirty-three years old, Gilly. You can ask girls out. It's allowed," laughed Cassius. 

"But what if she says no?"

"Darling, she wasn't going to say no to you."

Gilberta wailed from behind her hands. 

Rowan wiped tears from his eyes and reached for one of the last croissants. He frowned at the last one. "Why did you buy so many? Are we expecting someone?"

Cassius' twin frowned then laughed. "I suppose we are." She smiled at Mitksuki. 

Then snapped her fingers.

The doorbell rang.

Mitsuki looked at the door then at Cassie. "That is a good trick."

"There's someone at the door, silly," she said. "I'll go greet him. Are we fine for another for brunch?"

Alain only raised his brow as everyone shrugged. 

"Only if he doesn't tease me also," said Dr. Glenisle. 

''Right then." Cassie got up and went to the door. Mitsuki got up and peered around the dining room doorway. Cassie opened the door before the visitor rang again. 

"Hello, Harry," she said pleasantly. 

Haruhi stood with defiant awkwardness on the doorstep. He had a cake box in his hands. "Pardon me," he said in his accented English. "Is my brother here?" 

Cassie idly traced something on the door frame. 

"Hmmm, Mitsuki is here. Would you like to come? You will need to promise that you don't mean to harm anyone in this house."

Haruhi frowned. Mitsuki could see the confusion in his eyes. "I promise that I will not harm anyone in this house."

"Good. You may enter."

Haruhi stepped through, then stood around, awkwardly. There was very little etiquette on how to visit a house that you'd once attacked. 

"Would you like to join us for brunch? There's a croissant with your name on it."

Mitsuki could see the bewildered confusion on Haruhi's face. "I would like to accept the invitation, thank you." He paused. "I brought a cake."

Mitsuki wanted to die of embarrassment. 

Luckily, Cassie accepted the cake with grace and led him through. Mitsuki quickly retreated and ensconced himself beside Alain. He waved cheerfully at Haruhi when he arrived, and enjoyed his bother's scowl. 

"Join us, brother!"

Haruhi looked warily at Alain and his cousins at the counter and went to stand beside Mitsuki. 

"We are very casual here," said Cassie as Gilly passed a plate to Haruhi. 

Alain demonstrated by casually tearing his stolen pastry into strips and eating the strips one by one. 

Haruhi frowned at him. Alain smiled back. 

"Can we help you, brother?" Mitsuki decided to try the casual thing by putting his arm around Alain. Haruhi frowned even harder. 

"You did not come home last night," he said. "I was concerned."

"That doesn't explain the cake."

"It is a peace offering," Haruhi said, gritting his teeth. "It is only polite."

"Is it?" Mitsuki blinked innocently. "Was it in one of the texts? Did Tomoe Gozen deliver sweets upon a former rival as a formal gesture? I'm sorry I attacked your stronghold, let me come in peace, I bring cake? I am unfamiliar with this action."

Rowan snorted, but he covered it up by sipping his coffee.

Haruhi's nostrils flared. Cassius and Cassie look on with interest, and in identical poses with their elbow resting on the countertop and their chins resting on their hands. Gilly was ignoring everyone and was furiously searching through her phone for something.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"I'm having breakfast," said Mitsuki. He dipped his knife into the honey jar and spread golden goodness on the last of his croissant. He took a bite. It was so very good.

Haruhi looked at the group gathered around the counter, flinched a tiny bit at the twins' weird twin thing they were doing, and then back at Mitsuki, who shrugged at him. Haruhi made a frustrated noise. "Brother, we were attacked last night. Kaito knows where we are. We need to move."

Mitsuki licked the honey off his fingers. "No, I think that's a bad idea."

Alain wrote,  _ And you will then be watching your backs while on the run.  _

Haruhi glared at Alain and bit back a reply. Alain gave him a smug look in turn. 

"Can we... Can we have the cake now?" Rowan blinked at everyone. "I'm going to have cake and another coffee then go back to bed."

Gilly looked up. "Coffee then bed? That can't work."

Rowan shrugged. "It relaxes me."

Gilly shook her head and started clearing away condiments from the countertop, and making space for the cake. 

Haruhi tore his attention from this busywork and leveled a stern look at Mitsuki. "You would risk your life for him."

Mitsuki looked at Alain, who smiled back. "Yes? Because he'll be happy to watch my back."

Haruhi gave him a disgusted look. "He killed his father. How can you trust yourself with him?"

"Ahem," said the twins. Together. "That "hit" was sanctioned by the family and was generations in the planning. Mitsuki is probably safe with our cousin. Probably."

"Oh Jesus," said Rowan. "You gave me a heart attack." Well, Mitsuki was glad that Rowan said it, because he just about almost wet his pants. He pressed closer against Alain, hoping that closeness to his boyfriend would protect him from the twin weirdness. 

"Go to sleep, Rowan," said the twins. 

"No, I'm now too terrified to sleep."

Gilly placed the cake down on the counter. She'd removed it from the box and put on an old fashioned and antique looking cake platter. It was a very pretty cake, matcha, Mitsuki thought, decorated with adzuki beans and cream. Haruhi shifted from foot to foot. Mitsuki realised that his brother was embarrassed, probably because he'd been caught out selecting a thoughtful gift. She cut the cake and served the first slice to her brother, the next two to Haruhi and Mitsuki as guests then Alain, the twins and lastly herself. Mitsuki didn't know much, but he knew about rank and hierarchy and the order she served made him wonder.

Haruhi still had his uneaten croissant on his plate and he tore that up, eating it piece by piece without condiments. 

They sat eating in silence with Rowan finishing first. He then took his mug and went to the couch, covered himself with a blanket, rolled into it and was still. 

Suddenly Gilly set her fork down. "Alain, when was the last time you shot a gun?"

Alain put his fork down as well, and looked at her. 

"I think you need some practice."

He tilted his head at her, not quite frowning, and not making a reply. 

"Mitsuki will take you to the range, won't you?"

"I would love to see Alain in action," Mitsuki said, grinning.

"Yes...Alain, you need to be far from here this afternoon. You can see Pigeon first before you go."

The twins were looking at her now. "Gilly?" 

She smiled at them. That was Mitsuki saw that her eyes had a slight shimmer to them, as if someone had sprinkled a dusting of gold on to the blue of her iris. He glanced at his brother. Haruhi was looking at the Glenisles with a disquieted look. 

Alain pushed himself away from the counter and taking a step back, he bowed slightly from the waist before turning and heading to the door to the basement. Mitsuki followed after. Alain was already down the stairs and Mitsuki was about to step down when he froze. 

It was so sudden. He stood that the top of the stairs, the lower landing gaping like a maw, large and dark. His breath caught in his throat. His heartbeat raced and he clenched his fists. He felt a cold sweat gather. 

Then Alain was there, on hand flat on his chest and slowly pushing him away from the doorway. Alain backed him until he hit the pantry door, and he just held him there, anchoring him to the present. There was another presence at his elbow, but all Mitsuki was aware of was Alain's green-brown eyes. They really were amazing. He hadn't known that there were eyes like his in the world.

Mitsuki felt his breathing even out, even his limbs still trembled. Alain touched his face, and he closed his eyes and nodded.

"S-so. That basement, yes? It's definitely a place." Someone took his elbow and led him to the living room. It was Haruhi, his brother strangely silent and even tempered. Mitsuki felt eyes on him as he passed the counter where everyone was gathered. He sat on the sectional, Haruhi settling beside him. Alain hovered. Rowan was still curled and snoring, undisturbed by the rest of the house.

Mitsuki laughed. "So, I'm fucked up, yes?"

Alain leaned over to grip his shoulder. Mitsuki could see that Haruhi was going to slap his hand away. He gripped Alain's hand before Haruhi could even move. He growled softly.

Alain didn't pay him any mind. Mitsuki really loved him.

"Am I going to see your guns?" That earned him a wicked smirk, and Alain was off.

Mitsuki clenched his fists over his knees. He could feel Haruhi frown and glower at him, the whole house and at the empty space that Alain occupied. Mitsuki didn't care what his brother thought. What he and Alain were then was different to who they were now. There were no regrets. He attacked, he intended to kill and he got hurt instead. There was no reason to blame Alain. Just as there was no reason to blame his own brother.  It was the way things were and there was no reason to blame anyone. 

He opened his eyes and flattened his hands. He smiled. 

He was really ready to see Alain's guns.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If all goes well, I should be posting once a day from now on until the end of this novel!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: idiot brothers and magic stuff

They made a quick trip to check on Pigeon then they were on their way to Alain's gun range. The bird was fine. He managed to nuzzle Alain's fingers when they visited, and Mitsuki could tell that Alain was greatly relieved his little friend was promised a recovery. The vet wanted to keep Pigeon for a few more days before discharging him. Mitsuki tried not to think of the expectedly high vet bills but he knew that Alain's smile was worth it. They left after a quick ten minute visit and got into Alain's car. Mitsuki gave his brother a wave, knowing that there was a glower behind Haruhi's helmet. Haruhi was determined to follow them around, not trusting Mitsuki's safety to Alain's dubious care. 

He also followed on his motorcycle. Wrapped up as Haruhi was in leather and wool, the bite of the wind would still be somewhat fierce. Mitsuki made sure to not drive too fast. He didn't want his brother to end up as a smear on the road due to slippery conditions.

And he didn't want to be pulled over, not since Alain's very attractive collection of firearms were in the trunk. 

Even Haruhi broke out of his aloof demeanor to peer with some interest as Alain laid out and packed part of his collection of handguns (six sig-sauers) and his two favorite rifles in duffel bags. Alain also had a very interesting kit of various concealable implements that Mitsuki really wanted to see Alain wearing if only so he could find each and every tool himself while undressing his very attractive boyfriend. 

Right now, though, that boyfriend was sleeping in the passenger seat, his head supported by his seat belt. Mitsuki knew he worried about his energy levels. Alain had told him through a quick scribble that he hadn't planned on doing much today after his run. His energy and motivation levels always varied and he didn't if he could do much else after testing his aim at his range. Mitsuki shrugged and suggested he give him the address and then nap if he could. 

A sleeping Alain was one of Mitsuki's favourite things, right next to a smiling Alain and a happy Alain. 

Mitsuki then admitted that Alain was his favourite thing ever, if only to himself.

He liked the soft parts like naps that softened himself, and he liked the sharp bits that made him sharper. He was not cruel, he was not harsh, while his training had broken him, Alain remained.... good. That was what Mitsuki found fascinating. Alain was never cruel. He could be cunning, and could tease, and he did have a sly sense of humour. There were little things that Mitsuki had discovered about him, like how he liked good food and was vain about his appearance. And he was trusting. He truly believed Mitsuki when he said that he didn't hold any ill will towards him, and Mitsuki really didn't. There was that one flare of anger but it melted away. It hadn't been personal. That was what Mitsuki realized. Alain had been coldly calculating and manipulative, but he was never cruel. From what Mitsuki had heard from Rowan and Cassius was that Alain had paid dearly for the hurt he had dealt upon Mitsuki, nad he had done that out of duty to his family. Mitsuki now suspected that Alain would grind himself to dust out of duty for his family.

He couldn't have that, not when his own brother almost sacrificed everything, including Mitsuki himself, for the clan. Yet the Glenisle family was different from the clan they left. If roles were reversed and Alain had been the attacker rather than the defender, he would not have survived. Mercy would not have been given to the interloper. The Glenisle family saved him. Alain gave his own blood. Gilly Glenisle checked on his healed wounds and fed him. 

You would have thought that Mitsuki really hadn't spent months observing the family to strike at them at the most opportune moment. 

They were different, the Glenisles. Different from his old clan. Mitsuki wouldn't call them benign. A benign organisation didn't have need for someone like Alain. He wasn't yet sure why the Glenisle family existed or what their mission or cause was, he was certain that Alain would destroy himself for his family, Mitsuki intended that would not him happen.

He wasn't yet sure of how he would stop Alain, but Mitsuki was confident that he will when the time was right. 

*

Alain stirred to wakefulness just as Mitsuki turned into a bitumen covered road and then suddenly they were surrounded on all sides by tall trees. Mitsuki drove slowly, blinking. Mitsuki realized that he had no idea where they were. He was relatively new to the Boston area and he had been following the GPS on his phone. The trees around them were old and tall, leafless in the winter, but their branches were heavy with snow. Mitsuki worried about the low undercarriage of Alain's sports car but a quick glance at his boyfriend told him that he was not bothered.

Heh, boyfriend.

That was when Mitsuki hurriedly looked up at the rear-view. Haruhi! Was he still with them? With relief, Mitsuki could indeed his brother follow them still on his motorcycle, also going slow as he followed the yellow Chevvy. 

They traveled slowly over the uneven road, that then turned into an uneven dirt road. That was when Mitsuki got worried. 

"Should I stop? I don't know if the car can go further."

Alain gave him a small, lazy smile and pointed his finger onwards.

"Okay, if you're sure. I hope you know a good mechanic."

Alain only gave a huff that counted as a laugh. 

They rolled on a little further, gravel and snow and old leaf litter crunching under the wheels. Finally, Alain pointed at a fork in the path and lacking any other direction, Mitsuki took it. The GPS on his phone had announced that he had reached his destination about fifteen minutes ago. He was trapped with a dangerous man in a car in a woods that he had no idea existed. He couldn't even remember which direction they took after they left the city limits, which routes they took.

There was something in the woods.

It wasn't there when he looked, but there was a scurrying in the corner of his eyes. He looked at Alain, and Alain was smiling back. He looked different. He looked alien. His features were sharper, his eyes green and cat-like and his ears were long and elegant. 

He reached out with his long fingered hand and Mitsuki jerked back, almost pulling the car into a ditch. Alain grabbed the wheel and straightened the car. He looked at Mitsuki again and suddenly he was back to being Alain, just normal, only slightly mysterious Alain. He looked over his shoulder and then indicated that Mitsuki should stop the car. Mitsuki was glad to do so.

Then Alain stepped out into the cold.

The terror that Mitsuki was trying to suppress let out and he shouted, scrambling out of his seatbelt and opened the door to fall out of the driver's seat. He stumbled upwards, trying to find his feet and then stopped. 

Haruhi had stopped, his bike idling. He seemed to be frozen while sitting on his bike. His helmet was a dark mirror that let in no light. He seemed completely isolated. He gave no mind to Alain, who was standing beside his bike. 

He started when Alain laid a hand on his shoulder, one hand on the handle. He took off his helmet and handed it to Alain, who refused. Alain just indicated with a head jerk that he should dismount, and surprisingly, Haruhi did. He took his helmet and went to join Mitsuki in the Chevy. Mitsuki gave Alain a questioning look, and Alain only pointed ahead.

Mitsuki got back in the car and slowly started forward again.

"Brother?"

"I don't know what I saw," said Haruhi. "This woods is full of spirits."

Mitsuki swallowed. He never did well with the spirits. They were all to capricious when he was himself was considered a capricious being. 

They were silent then. Mitsuki flicked his eyes towards the rearview and for the most part, he saw Alain following, his bare head so pale in the slight blowing snow. 

Other times, he saw a white knight, pale and terrible, on top a white horse. The white knight looked like Alain, but his armour was crafted out of wood, crystal and mirror. 

His heart stopped the first time he saw the knight in Alain's place, but the vision was always temporary and Alain was there, following on his borrowed bike. 

Finally, they couldn't move the car any further. A large green hedge blocked the way, and the path ended. Mitsuki pulled to a stop, wondering if the spirits had led them down the wrong path when Alain scooted past on Haruhi's bike. He got to the edge of the hedge, and pulled off his glove. He touched the hedge.

And the greenery pulled back, untwisting and ungrowing from the thorny hedge.

"This is more magic than our clan is capable of, brother," said Haruhi.

"I was hoping that you weren't going to say that, brother," replied Mitsuki. He started the car again when Alain waved them through. Mitsuki saw through the mirrors that Alain closed the way and the vines sprang back and blocked the way again.

Then Mitsuki looked forward and he slammed on the breaks again.

Where the forest and the rest of the world was in winter, the field before them was in green spring. He gaped. There was still snow on the bonnet of the car, melting away from the heat of the engine, but beyond that? It was green and spring flowers. He looked when Alain tapped the car, and followed his pointing finger to where there were two oak trees in the middle of the field. Mitsuki drove there then pulled to a stop and Alain did the same with Haruhi's motorcycle. The brothers got out, and just looked around. 

"This is... I have heard of places like this," said Haruhi. "Secret places that only a few can enter if they know the way. I had never thought I would see one for myself. Did your family make this?"

The brothers turned and Alain was in the process of pulling his shirt off. He stood shirtless, fair and natural like he belonged in this place, and shook his head. 

_ Found it, _ he mouthed and made some signs they couldn’t read. He pointed at the trunk of the Chevy and Mitsuki bent to open it. Alain pulled out his duffle of weapons and pulled the heavy bag over his shoulder. That was when Mitsuki got a clear look of the tattoo on Alain's back. It was a sun in orange and yellow inks, the words Sol Invictus inscribed over and over in the whorls of the sun. 

"Found it," Haruhi repeated, awed despite himself. "A rare place like this and your family just finds it?"

Alain shrugged and went to stand between the oak trees. He pressed his hand against one, then the other, and then set his bag down. He pulled out his notebook and wrote.  _ Unc. Donovan found it. He is knowledgeable.  _

Haruhi shook his head. "None of this makes any sense," he complained.

Mitsuki laughed. "Does it have to, brother?" He turned to Alain. "Can we explore while you're setting up?"

Alain nodded. He was already laying out his firearms. He held up his hand with all fingers up. 

"Five minutes until you start shooting?"

Alain nodded again and pointed. Mitsuki squinted, then he saw them. At the far end of the field were a set of circular targets. 

"We won't go in that direction then." He jerked his head at Haruhi. "Come brother, let's explore!"

"Explore? Are you eight? Do you remember what happened when you went off exploring when you were eight?"

Mitsuki rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I fell out a tree and cut my head."

"Yes," said Haruhi with some satisfaction. "You did."

Mitsuki snorted and walked to the entrance. The grass was pleasant to walk through. It was soft and fragrant. There were daisies and clover and when he looked closely, there were small pollinators amongst the little flowers. He wondered if there as a magical bee hive in this magical field.

Haruhi caught up with him and it was almost pleasant, walking with his brother like this. He could tell that Haruhi didn't trust this little hidden away land of spring but Mitsuki wasn't worried. Why would he worry if Alain wasn't worried. Looking over his shoulder he could see that Alain was still setting out his gear. Mitsuki wondered why he had taken his shirt off, but he wasn't going to complain. He could kiss any bullet burns later. 

And he intended to.

The hedge, when they got to it, looked like any other hedge. It was green, thorny, and was probably ivy. It had thick branches in the middle, and looked very old, and was very twisted.

He prodded a vine and it wobbled, like a normal plant, nothing strange at all about it. It seemed completely mundane and utterly unable to move on its own accord.

"This place is really weird," he announced.

Haruhi glared at him. "Are you actually coming to that conclusion just now?"

"But, brother, you are the one who is always telling me that I shouldn't come to hasty conclusions."

Haruhi inhaled deeply. "Brother, what do you think you're doing? You are in over your head. This forest, that family, it is all beyond us."

Mitsuki scoffed. "You say that as if you couldn't destroy all the trees in that forest in one breath."

"That's different! We trained for that, we earned those powers. These people, they are dangerous. Magic is a toy to them. How do I know that he has not done something to your head? To your mind?"

Mitsuki looked at his brother then looked over the field at Alain. The tall blond was pulling on a close-fitting vest of some description. He thought back to the morning before, then of the day before. Then he grinned at his brother. "Well, if he were controlling my mind, I wouldn't want sex so much."

*

Alain looked up at the sounds of shouting. 

He stood up for a better look and saw Haruhi, for lack of a better word, outright losing it. Mitsuki, on the other hand, had his hands in his pockets and was telegraphing insouciant body language as his brother yelled at him. Alain was much too far to hear what was being said but he wondered if could guess. He watched for a moment, then turned away when it looked like Mitsuki didn't need his assistance. 

Of course Mitsuki didn't need his help. If anything of the true sight that the woods had given him could be believed, the brothers had dragons under their skins. 

He knew that they weren't mundane. Alain had heard stories of the Okabe clan, stories that were proven when the outcast Kaito attacked. 

Alain slot in the magazine to one of his Sig Sauers. 

He would like to carve Kaito's name into a bullet. 

Poor Pigeon. Poor little bird. His loyal little friend was hurt just because Kaito wanted a fight. 

Gilly had been right. It had been a long time since he trained. It had been a long time since he had the energy to train. It was as if Mitsuki's presence gave him the energy to that he needed, or rather, the incentive to be more active. 

No matter what the reason, it was good to have his guns in his hands again. There was something about a gun, his guns, that spoke to his soul. 

He missed his rifle.

Alain set aside the handgun and picked up his rifle, his beloved rifle. His oldest friend and closest ally. 

The yelling behind him got more intense, pulling his attention away from his preparations. He turned to look and the brothers were now rolling in the grass.

Alain shrugged. He'd seen sibling fights before. He wasn't concerned. He lifted the rifle to his shoulder, took aim and fired at the the far targets. The boom echoed 

Gilly had been right. It had been a long time since he trained. It had been a long time since he had the energy to train. It was as if Mitsuki's presence gave him the energy to that he needed, or rather, the incentive to be more active. 

No matter what the reason, it was good to have his guns in his hands again. There was something about a gun, his guns, that spoke to his soul. 

He missed his rifle.

Alain set aside the handgun and picked up his rifle, his beloved rifle. His oldest friend and closest ally. 

The yelling behind him got more intense, pulling his attention away from his preparations. He turned to look and the brothers were now rolling in the grass, yelling at each other. Haruhi once got Mitsuki in a choke hold and pounded on his liver, still shouting. Mitsuki broke free and twisted. The movement dislocated Haruhi's shoulder, causing him to scream.

Alain sighed. He should stick with dating women. Women didn't do this sort of bullshit. 

Unconcerned, he turned and lifted the rifle to his shoulder, took aim and fired at the the far targets. The boom echoed across the field. He'd forgotten about the recoil and he could see the shot had hit the rim of the target. Adjusting his hold, he fired again and again from his kneeling stance on the ground. Then he stood and fired again. 

His shoulder ached from absorbing the recoil, his hands were numb from the vibrations in the rifle, but he felt vibrant and whole. It was not unlike the feeling when he was holding the blade over Mitsuki in the basement, but it was clearer, cleaner and made the blood in his veins feel like they rang with a high note of a bell. 

Alain kept the muzzle pointing at the ground as he rose to his feet. The green field was silent, the sounds of fighting had died away. He looked at the brothers and saw that they were lying flat on the grass and were only now peeking their heads up. Alain clicked his tongue and went towards them. The brothers very sheepishly climbed to their feet. They both limped. Haruhi had a split lip and Mitsuki had the beginnings of a black eye. They exchanged a glance then straightened their bent stances. 

"So, that was good shooting, yes?" Mitsuki said with forced cheer. His voice was harsher than normal.

"Indeed. It would be good to see you up close," said Haruhi. Apparently the brothers had silently agreed to not mention their fight or how they thought Alain had been shooting at them. 

It was all Alain could do from rolling his eyes. Lacking notebook and pen, he just jerked his head back towards. It was a rare feeling these days that he felt like the smartest person around. He turned and led the way back, definitely not paying attention to how the brothers hobbled after him. 

He did, however, pop the trunk and pulled out the first-aid bag. He dropped it unceremoniously next to Mitsuki's foot then went back to his target practice. The brothers softly murmured to each other in Japanese, but Alain didn't pay attention to what they were saying. For him, his world had been reduced to his eye and his finger. He soon fell into a trance where he placed shot after perfect shot into the targets. Each bullet fired sent a crack of thunder across the clearing and Alain didn't stop until the magazine was emptied. 

Only then did he lower his rifle. He turned, sliding the emptied magazine out to toss it into the duffel. The brothers had been busy. Haruhi's shoulder had been set while he was shooting at the target, his yell of pain hadn't pierced his concentration at all. He now had his arm in a sling. Mitsuki had his hand under his own shirt, counting his bruises. 

"Are you done? Do you want more practice?" he asked. "Your shoulders must be aching if you haven't practiced in a while like you said." 

Alain raised a brow at him, pointedly looking at his visible injuries. Mitsuki smiled vapidly in turn. Alain snorted and bent to slot a fresh magazine in, but switched the safety on and laid the rifle down. He picked up his shoulder holsters and loaded them with his pistols and reloads, then he pointed midway down the field, closer to the targets. Then he indicated that the brothers should stay up here with the cars.

He didn't dignify the request by waiting for an answer. 

He was suddenly very sympathetic of how his family felt when he injured himself doing something stupid.

Drawing his guns, Alain was very conscious of how his arms ached. He wasn't even going to try moving targets today. His fitness level was just not up for it. He was definitely going to start investigating gyms again.

He lifted pistols and just about as he was going to squeeze the triggers, a crackling in the air caused him to lower his guns and look around. It was a strange sensation, like ozone and the smell of static electricity. It was a strange sensation, something that he couldn't put a finger on, but definitely something that he had encountered at one point. 

Mitsuki called his name questioningly and Alain only shrugged. 

Then the crackling sound increased and the sky ripped open with a soul-jarring blast of thunder. Alain started back as a dark void gaped open overhead. He felt his hair raise on end and his ears ring with numbness. 

Then something dropped from the rip in the sky and it slowly closed up.

The figure was all in black. At first Alain thought it was Kaito, but quickly dismissed that idea. Black hair, black clothes, unnaturally black skin and weapons. He looked like he was carved out of obsidian, so absolute and infinite was the shadowy nature of his being. White eyes glared out when they saw Alain, and for a moment, they stared at each other in surprise. Alain was struck with the realization that the obsidian man looked exactly like him. He said something, his lips parted to reveal only void.  Alain couldn't hear, but it wouldn't have mattered what he said, because Alain was certain he said only one word. "You." 

Then the obsidian man drew his guns and aimed them at Alain. Quick snap reflexes meant that Alain was already diving out of the way as bullets bit the grass at his feet. Alain rolled to his back and fired his guns, his own bullets spitting out towards Obsidian. Obsidian avoided all of them except one. That bullet clipped his arm, and a whispy smoke billowed out of that tear.

Obsidian looked down at his arm then snarled something at Alain. Alain had already scrambled to his feet, his guns pointing out at Obsidian as Obsidian pointed his own guns at Alain.

It seemed like an impasse, then a screaming Mitsuki raced past Alain and swung his sword at Obsidian. 

Obsidian was caught by surprise. It made sense. Alain always worked by himself. If Obsidian were his mirror then he wouldn't have expected Alain to have back up. 

He fended off Mitsuki's furious attack, parrying the sword blows with his pistols. He kicked away Mitsuki, aiming his guns at him. That was Alain's opening. He shot at Obsidian, each bullet tearing new holes in the fabric of his substance where wispy smoke wafted out from his body. Obsidian looked down, then glared at Alain, his eyes were smoldering white embers. Unfortunately, if Obsidian were his mirror, then it made complete sense for Obsidian himself to have backup.

He looked skyward, and he called out words in Latin, a spell that Alain was unfamiliar with. He caught words like umbra and canis  and Alain felt a dread building. 

With a howl that sounded like it was born in darkest night, five shadowy dogs appeared by Obsidian's side. They snarled and snapped at each other, then glared at Mitsuki and Alain.

Alain didn't have time to be terrified. He started shooting. The shadow dogs sprang anyway, biting at his legs and arms as he tried to keep them away from his face. He felt his skin rip, the bloom of pain where he was injured. He didn't yell. Could yell, but didn't. Fire raged through his veins as adrenaline pumped and caused his heart to race. He kicked off one dog and head butted the other, freeing his arm. He shot the one that was still on his arm, causing the shadow dog to dissipate into the air as smoke. 

Mitsuki had two of them on him, but he had already cut them down. Alain shot at the two other dogs on him, emptying all his rounds on them.

As for Obsidian, Haruhi had produced a kusarigama and was somehow aptly wielding it despite one arm in a sling.  He was driving the shadow man back and away from Alain and Mitsuki, spitting curses and insults. 

Obsidian only laughed and laughed. Alain had gotten his hearing back at some stage and now he wished he was still deafened. It was a terrible sound, empty and echoing like a cave. 

"Allies! Allies!" said Obsidian. "You have found people who will fight for you! That is new. Normally you drive people away."

"I do not fight for him," said Haruhi. "You attacked my brother also!" With that, he moved in, swinging the sickle part of his weapon on its long chain from side to side then flung it at Obsidian's hand. It tore off, a large bloom of oily smoke oozing from the broken limb.

Obsidian lifted his arm and laughed. "Do you think this will destroy me? You could you could come here and that was all you had to do?" He looked at his faces, his gaze landing on Alain's and grinned.

"You have no idea what I am, do you?"

Alain looked at him, really looked at him, and his vision blurred. He didn't have his hollow stone with him, he didn't have any of his other artifacts. Monster hunting was more his uncles realm. All he could do was reload the empty magazines and raise one of his guns at Obsidian.

"What's the matter, Richard? Dad cut out your tongue?"

Alain open fire, shooting rapid shot after rapid shot at Obsidian. Obsidian only laughed, standing with his arms outstretched as more and more tears appeared in his body.

The he burst apart into a cloud of darkness. 

That was by no means the end of the obsidian man. The could puffed out and expanded, growing far bigger and seemingly containing much greater mass than when it was when contained in a shell the size of Alain's body. It expanded, more and more. Mitsuki and Haruhi backed up to stand by Alain's side. Together, they backed away, walking slowly while keeping the growing shadowy mass in sight. Alain kept enough of his head to reload his guns. He just had two magazines left. The rest were in his duffle bag, as was his rifle. 

"Hey you," said Mitsuki. "Do you have any ideas?"

Alain shook his head. His hands were steady but his pulse was too rapid. It was beginning to get clearer and clearer to Alain and the Obsidian man was a dark mirror to himself. It frightened him. Alain could not pinpoint a place in time when the Obsidian man had been created. He could not even fathom what it would take to destroy him. 

He didn't even know which of them was the real Alain. 

Then again, even Alain wasn't the real Alain. 

"It could not escape my notice that he looked like you."

"Brother, this is not the time."

"It was not a complain. I used the opportunity to release some much needed tension."

Alain spat out a nervous sound. It was meant to be a laugh, but it spoke far more about his state of mind that he liked. Mitsuki placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay with me," he murmured. "We have a job to do."

That was what it took, just that. Alain inhaled, and he was ready.

The dark cloud before them puffed out, then was sucked back into the centre. It was a compressed pillar of darkness, much smaller when it had been the cloud, but nowhere it's original height. It was at least twice as tall as it had been, and it soon began to form a shape. Features soon began to form. A suit, well shaped hands, a broad chest and wide shoulders. Then the face. That face that Alain both yearned to see and hated.

The face smiled, the eyes were cold white embers in an body of mirrored obsidian. 

"Son, there you are."

Alain screamed. 

He dropped his guns and screamed, clutching his head, the terror of that night of his baptism of blood played over and over again before his eyes. 

"My son," the Obsidian man said again. "Precious, talented princeling. What a waste of space you have become. Do me a favour, boy. Take your gun and put it in your mouth."

Mitsuki roared. He kicked away Alain's guns and his body pulsed. The dragons that lived under his skin flailed and billowed outwards. Wings of wind flared behind him and he flew at the Obsidian giant. He briefly heard his brother calling his name, but he only had lust for the Obsidian giant's pain and death. 

The Obsidian giant laughed. He kicked at Mitsuki in a dismissive manner, then only acted a little surprised when Mitsuki avoided the attack and cut the other leg.  If Mitsuki thought he could cut it clean off, he was sore mistaken. The giant only laughed. The leg only reformed. 

"You're a fool to fight on behalf of my son. He has failed many times. He will fail even you. You should just go, leave him to his sad fate."

Mitsuki spat. "I will not abandon him!" He raised his sword up high in an offensive position, ready for the inevitable strike. 

It never came. A loud roar came from the top of the slope where the two oak trees were. It was Haruhi's motorbike and as it sped down the slope, Mitsuki could see that there was someone on it. He launched the bike into the air straight at the Obsidian giant, jumping off at the last moment and landing neatly on his feet.

Mitsuki also also dived out of the way of the incoming motorcycle. Then he practically flew when he saw the stranger lobe a grenade at the giant. 

The Obsidian giant sneered, having caught Haruhi's bike. Then the grenade hit him in the chest. The explosion wasn't impressive, but it created enough heat and light that bike was caught in the blast and was thrown from the giant's grasp. The Obsidian giant himself screamed and dissipating into thin smoke that blew away into nothing. 

Mitsuki stood, brushing the shrapnel off him and went to a still sobbing Alain. Haruhi was standing over him, weapon out against the stranger that entered the protected field. 

"Hey," said the stranger. His English had a Viet accent. Mitsuki didn't pay any more attention to him beyond that, trusting Haruhi to handle him. He only knelt beside Alain and pulled him into his arms. 

What a fucked up day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! Three more chapters to go!
> 
> With luck, the next chapter with be up tomorrow.


	8. Chapter Eight

Either the drive back to Boston was quiet or Mitsuki wasn't paying any attention to the conversation in the front of the car. He and Alain were squashed in the narrow back seats of the Chevy. Haruhi was in the driver's seat and the stranger was next to him. Mitsuki didn't pay much attention other than maybe getting a scrap of a name. It was Mike? Mark? Some name that didn't fit the aesthetic of the kung fu warrior that the little man was trying to project. Whoever he was, he wasn't dressed for the Boston winter, seeing as he was only in trousers, socks and shoes, no shirt, real Bruce Lee aesthetic if you were into that sort of thing.

Mitsuki felt exhausted. Alain was half supported by the seatbelt, and half supported by him. He was now in an exhausted doze with the occasional pained groan coming from his lips. Mitsuki could sense the stranger's curiosity but he didn't give a damn. He held his poor damaged boyfriend and wished that he could have murdered the Obsidian giant. 

He wished he could have cut into him the way Alain did. Only this time, it would be personal. Very personal. He wanted to squeeze the life out of the being that hurt his Alain, his Rain-chan. 

For the first time in a long time, Mitsuki was absolutely furious. It was only Alain's need that kept him by his side, or else he'd find himself blindly wandering the woods, looking for a foe he could destroy. 

Haruhi was looking at him through the rear-view. He drove slowly out of respect for his sore shoulder, the icy roads and the gathering darkness outside the car. The stranger had gotten the hedge to open for them and then begged a ride, claiming that he knew Alain and the Glenisles. Correction. He said he knew Richard. Mitsuki's correction had been ugly. After what the Obsidian giant had told Alain, Mitsuki never wanted to hear that name again. 

He would cut the next person that caused Alain pain like that.

Where Alain knew where to cut to keep a person alive, Mitsuki knew where to cut to cause a slow painful death. 

Haruhi was still giving him a concerned look and Mitsuki scoffed. "Do not worry about me, brother. I am here." He nuzzled Alain's soft hair, breathing in the faded scent of his shampoo. It was mostly faded, but it brought Mitsuki to that gloriously intimate morning in the shower. It was a grounding memory, a good memory of smiles and soft moans. He held Alain as close to him as the seatbelt would allow and closed his eyes. 

They were back in Boston and pulling up in front of the house in South End before he knew it. Alain was still asleep. He seemed drained and exhausted. That was fine. He could still carry him if need be. There were people to greet them when they pulled up, more of the extended Glenisle clan. Mitsuki thought it was Cassius who helped extract Alain from the backseat as Mituski gently prodded him out. Mitsuki climbed out himself and looked around. The street was quiet and the snow had gotten heavier while they were at the hidden Spring field. Haruhi had extracted Alain's weapons bag from the trunk and was turning to bring the bag indoors. The short stranger, Mike? was standing awkwardly to the side. He was wearing Haruhi's jacket and it looked ridiculously big on him. Mitsuki thought he looked familiar but couldn't gather the energy to think about it. He took Alain back from Cassius and gathered him in his arms. Cassie was at the stairs. She looked at Mark? and frowned as Mike? shuffled nervously. 

She stopped him as he was about to mount the steps to the frontdoor. 

"What happened?"

Mitsuki shook his head. Cassie wrinkled her nose. "She will want to know. She may not wait for you to think about helping."

Mitsuki drew a breath feeling the power of the Wind of the Dragon in his veins once more.

Cassie dropped her hand. "Alain's mother will call, then," she said hastily. Mitsuki brushed past her. He heard him address Marv?. "Hello, Matthew."

"Cassiopeia." 

"You may as well come in."

Matthew nodded and climbed the steps after Mitsuki. 

Rowan was in the living room, as was Dr. Glenisle. Rowan caught his eye and pointed upstairs and mouthed now. Then he saw Matthew standing behind Mitsuki and he stiffened. 

"You're back, I see." 

Mitsuki didn't wait to hear Matthew's answer. He shifted Alain in his arms and went up the stairs to his room. The house seemed full of people, all Glenisles. There was an air of concern, but frankly Mitsuki only cared about Alain. He was going to put Alain to bed, undress his clothes and tuck him under the covers, then spoon up from behind him.

That was his plan and he was going to murder anyone who would try to stop him. 

Nobody did, and in ten minutes, he was a warm presence at Alain's back. 

*

There were people who checked in on them during the night. They were quiet about it, but Mitsuki still woke each time the door was opened or closed. Once or twice, he felt a cool hand touch his brow, then opening his eyes a peek, saw it also touch Alain on the brow. Sometimes things were left behind, such as painkillers and water, a pot of tea on a chaffing plate, the bag of clothes that Haruhi dropped off for him.

 

That was what properly woke him that morning. He slept badly and woke tired and irritable after having his rest interrupted all night. Alain was still in his arms, having shifted very little in his sleep. He had turned around and his head was tucked under Mitsuki's chin, but he was still sleeping peacefully. Mistuki rolled to his back and kept Alain pressed to his side. There was a feeling an immediate relief in his bruised body as he lay flat. There was the ache from enforced activity, then there was the aches from the fight with Haruhi. He smiled at that memory. It was a good fight, something that he and his brother needed to do, had needed to do for a long time. It had been a cathartic release of frustrations that they both had. They had spent far too long working in close quarters with each other and Mitsuki wondered if it was time that they went their own way. 

 

He blew out a slow exhale. This was a question for another time. For now, he nuzzled Alain's hair and eased himself out of Alain's hold. He slide out of bed as quietly as possible and limped barefoot to the bathroom. The room had thick blackout curtains, so he couldn't tell what time of day it was. The bathroom was also dim and there was only a small circular window made out of thick stained glass near the ceiling, so that was also little help in telling the time. He emptied his bladder, nevertheless and took a shower and brushed his teeth with Alain's toothbrush to feel less shit. He examined his hair in the mirror and made a mental note to re-do his dye-job, the beginnings of the bronze was starting to show.

 

He reentered the room, toweling his hair dry. Alain's eyes fluttered but settled back into a doze after Mitsuki leaned over to kiss his temple. Mitsuki checked the time on his phone. It was after midday. They'd been asleep for almost eighteen hours. Mistuki yawned and scratched his chest. He could go back for another eighteen, really. He checked the tea out, it came with a note. This will make you feel better, it said. The same hand wrote the same thing on the packet of painkillers, and Mitsuki really didn't know what to make of that. He shrugged, poured himself a cup and popped out the prescribed dosage and swallowed both. The pills went down with the help of the tea and the tea was rather nice, so he poured himself a second cup. 

He wished that somebody had thought about leaving some food though. Mitsuki wondered if he was going to leave the room to scavenge for snacks when his eyes lit on the pear under the glass cloche. He wondered if was a real pear and then wondered to the shelf it was on, lifted the cloche and picked up the fruit.

It looked good, without bruises and looked like it was plucked off the tree just yesterday.

He brought the pear to his mouth and was about to take a huge bite when Alain scrambled out of bed and caught his arm by the wrist. Mitsuiki startled and his tea spilt over the rim of the cup. He had frozen, not expecting the movement from Alain. In turn, Alain's eyes were wild, his grasp was like a steel lock and he looked very, very scared. Very slowly, he pulled Mitsuki's hand and the pear it held away from his mouth.

"Ahhhh," said Mitsuki, confused and bewildered. "You moved so quickly."

Alain used both hands to pry the pear from his hands, but Mitsuki let go. He watched Alain place it back under the cloche will all the reverence of a sacred object. Then he looked back at Mitsuki who was looking at him in confusion. He took Mitsuki's hand where there was some sticky juice residue on his fingers and stepped in close so their bodies touched. He wrapped an arm around Mitsuki's waist, steadying him, then brought Mitsuki's hand to his mouth. Mitsuki raised his brows but obediently licked his fingers. 

It only lasted a moment but it felt like his soul was transported out of his body. He felt like he was floating on a bed of razor crystals, and the universe was splayed before his open mind. He felt like he was all and none, the clarity of eternity slicing into his brain. He saw a rainbow of colour that streaked across the cosmos in waves and he felt the thrum of the living earth beneath his feet. There were things in the ground, around the ground, mysteries and secrets that the earth kept to herself that he was by no means prepared to be exposed to.

Then he was back into his body, and he was trembling. He had dropped his cup and he was slumped against Alain's bare chest. He sucked in a breath and held on to his Rain-chan. 

"Ahhhh," he said again, gasping. "Ahhhhh." Words had left him, abandoned him in his time of need. He couldn't even describe his feeling, his gratitude that he was stopped from taking a single bite of the pear. 

Very gently, Alain held him as he led him back to bed. Very gently, he lowered them and then they held each other until Mitsuki's full consciousness returned, life flowed back to his limbs and words were finally able to rest on his tongue again. 

"If I had more than a single drop of juice..." he finally started. Alain's hands and skin was cool but his heart was strong and grounding. Alain's hand was gentle as he ran it through Mitsuki's hair.

Alain mimed touched his own head then twisting his hand in an outward position, fingers and thumb all splayed out.

"Okay, so my brain would have exploded. Figuratively or physically?"

Alain shrugged. Mitsuki got the impression that there wasn't really much difference between the two fates and from a certain point of view, he figured that Alain was right. Mitsuki let the air deflate from his lungs, and he burrowed his face into the smooth skin of Alain's chest. Then he groaned and tried to push himself into a sitting position, only to fall back down on Alain's chest. "We need to eat," he moaned. "You need to-" Mitsuki yawned. He closed his eyes. A little sleep, that was all he needed. 

The last thought that flitted through his mind was that this was yet another time that Alain saved his life.

*

Mitsuki woke when the room was darker. He'd rolled in his sleep and he had his face buried in the pillow. There were strong, slim arms around him and Alain's soft snores near his ear. He was feeling much better, physically and mentally. His aches had eased off, and he didn't detect any stiffness or pains when rolling his ankle. Alain smelled good, he must have had a shower also. Mitsuki could also tell that Alain wasn't wearing any clothing, and that there was nothing between them as Alain pressed against his back. 

What a fucking shame.

Any other lover, Mitsuki would have turned and rolled to their back and he'd be nuzzling at their crotch and filling his mouth with their genitals. Cock, clit or intersex, he loved them all. As it was, he was growing a very interested erection and his boyfriend wasn't interested in sex. He was going to respect that, and sure, there were more things than sex to enjoy, and Mitsuki did love every aspect of Alain's company, but he loved sex also. 

He wondered if Alain was open to being slobbered over while Mitsuki took care of his arousal. 

Maybe he could slip out of bed without Alain noticing.

Then the door opened and Mitsuki's chances of slipping away went down the drain. 

He thought it was Gilly who entered, and it sounded like she was talking on the phone. He felt Alain wake and shift, and he was about to turn to look when Alain dropped a pillow over his head and lightly held it there.

"The fuck," Mitsuki said. Alain gave his chest an apologetic pat. 

"Yes, he's here," said Dr. Glenisle. "I'm in his room now. He looks well." She paused listening. Mitsuki felt the mattress shift a little. It was a really good mattress. Mitsuki generally tried to move carefully out of consideration for his partner's rest but it really was unnecessary with this mattress. Gilly spoke again. "She wants to know if you are fine. In your words. He gave me a thumbs up, Aunt Alice. He looks well rested. Yes, I think Mitsuki is the cause of this." She listened again. "Al, she wants to... Alain doesn't think it's a good idea. I think he's protecting him from you." Mitsuki heard Dr. Glenisle chuckle. "Yes, he is a sweet boy. All right, I'll ask. She wants to know about the shadow man." 

Mitsuki felt Alain stiffen ever so slightly then felt him move as he signed something at Gilberta. 

"He says it knew who it was, referred him by the dead identity, was once him, then was him. Which him was that? Alright. Alain looks pained. I think he's referring to his father. This lines up with what Matthew and Mitsuki's brother told us." Gilberta was silent for a while, listening. "I'll tell him, Aunt Alice. He says goodnight and that he loves you. She says she loves you too, Al." Gilberta signed off and Mitsuki felt something hit the mattress with a soft thud. "Alright. Before I forget, she wants you to listen to what Matthew has to say. She thinks it's a good idea, and if you think so too, she'll meet you there." Alain must have said something with his signs because Gilly then said, "No, she doesn't want me to elaborate. She's giving you options. Can I use your shower?"

"Can I take the pillow off my head now?" asked Mitsuki. Alain only pushed the pillow back down and got off the bed. Mitsuki heard them enter the bathroom, the door swinging behind them but not closing. He threw off the covers then and slid off, and stopped. 

Gilberta's clothes were on the floor, stained with blood. There was blood on the sheets where she sat too. Mitsuki ran over to the door of the bathroom and pushed it open. They were both in the shower, naked, with Alain helping to wash off the blood that was seeping from her pores,  weeping from her eyes and staining her skin and her hair.

"I want to say that this is not the weirdest thing I've seen but I would be lying," said Mitsuki. 

Gilberta laughed softly. There was blood in her gums too. "Aunt Alice is very strong," she said. "And I am very weak. Cassie wasn't home to take the call. I don't think I can walk down stairs. Rowan isn't home to help me." 

Mitsuki caught the look Alain gave him. "Stay the night with us."

It took some time for the bleeding to stop, and when it did, Alain helped her into some of his clothes and she drank some of the tea she had prepared earlier for them. Mitsuki pulled on a pair of pants and went downstairs. They were the only ones in the house, but there was warm soup on the stove and rolls nearby, provisions for the many hungry mouths in the household. Mitsuki helped filled several large bowls, found a tray and loaded it up for the trip up the stairs. 

Mitsuki didn't like the pallor of Dr. Glenisle's skin. She was always fair, much like his Rain-chan, but now she literally looked like the blood had been drained from her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, Alain behind her, gently combing out her her wet hair. She had a cup of her tea in her hands, and she sipped from it, seemingly grateful for the warmth. She was even more grateful for the soup that Mitsuki put in her hands. She finished the whole bowl then curled up in the middle of the bed. She was already asleep by the time Alain and Mitsuki finished eating, then they joined her, placing her between them. Taking Alain's lead, Mitsuki also draped his arm around her. He looked at Alain, his Rain-chan, looked into his hazel green eyes and wondered what other mysteries there were in store for him.

*

There was a gathered conference the next day. It seemed to Mitsuki that everyone was surprised by the fact that Alain was well enough to come down the stairs and enjoy human company.  Mitsuki watched as Alain dressed with care. He looked trepidatious, but like a warrior preparing for battle, he carefully pulled on the garb of his work. There was that close fitting vest Mitsuki had seen a couple days ago. It was a sort of scalemaile made out of hundreds upon hundreds of tiny hexagons. Mitsuki thought that it might have been stab-proof, or at least glance proof. Alain had the vest and the leggings version of that. Over that went a nice shirt. Mitsuki thought it was a shame that it looked a little loose on Alain. Very interestingly, that shirt was then attached to a pair of leg garters to pull the shirt taut. Mitsuki grinned widely at those, enough so that Alain blushed. He continued dressing himself, nice trousers and jacket, both look like they were tailored. They probably were. Mitsuki examined them and found that both had a thin layer of more armouring. He liked his sneaky Rain-chan and his subtle hand. He especially liked when Alain started secreting little weapons on his body, and he liked it even more when he strapped pistols to his ankles, and into his shoulder holsters. A large sheathed knife went into the holster under his jacket. 

His hair was too long and Mitsuki helped with that. It was just long enough in the front to be tied back, leaving a the back ends loose. He styled it a little, giving his Rain-chan a a smooth, suave look. He knew by the way Alain smiled that he enjoyed the attention. 

Mitsuki had kept busy while Alain was preparing. He gave his sword and knives a run over the whetstone Haruhi packed with his clothes, then he dressed in the loose black clothing that was his own battle gear. He buckled on his rarely used chestplate under his gi top and tied it close and tucked his mask into his belt.  

Gilberta had already left. She woke early and still looked a little pale to Mitsuki's eyes, but she proclaimed herself better and left with a light peck to their cheeks. 

Apparently Mitsuki was now considered part of the family. 

Gilberta had already left. She woke early and still looked a little pale to Mitsuki's eyes, but she proclaimed herself better and left with a light peck to their cheeks. 

Apparently Mitsuki was now considered part of the family. 

So they went down the stairs by themselves. Haruhi and Mike? had already arrived, as were several other members of Alain's extended family. Mitsuki couldn't remember the little Vietnamese's guy's name for the life of him. Haruhi and Meek? were also dressed for battle, and Miku? was still wearing his brother's jacket. 

Mitsuki didn't have time to dwell on this new mystery. He stood nest to Alain when the other found a seat, crossing his arms. Even if the last few days hadn't made it clear, he still projected a statement that whatever else, he was on Alain's side and he'd kill anyone who opposed them. Haruhi gave him an inscrutable look and a raised brow at Alain's appearance. Cassius and Rowan also looked at Alain. They exchanged glances then looked at him again. 

"You're still you," said Rowan. "You still manage to be you."

"Can you please stop talking in riddles," asked Marvin?. "All you you have been skirting around the issue for days. What happened to Richard?"

Mitsuki stepped forward. "His name is Alain," he growled. He knew his anger towards the shorter man was irrational. He couldn't help it. He could tell from Mick's? body language and the reactions of the people around him and the fact that Alain wasn't even looking at him that he had done something unforgivable. Haruhi was giving him signals that he should back down and Mitsuki only glowered. It was only Alain's hand tugging at his gi that made him relent. 

Rowan leaned forward. It was possibly the first time that Mitsuki had seen Rowan when he wasn't dead exhausted. "This is what happened, Matt. Mitsuki should listen also." Then he looked at Haruhi then at Alain, who nodded. "And Alain says its okay for you to hear this too," he said to Haruhi. "About five years ago, Alain killed his father, Richard St. James the Monster of New York.  I don't know what happened or how, but he couldn't speak after that, can't speak of the deed and is incapable of recounting the event." He paused. "We tried. His mind shuts down."

Mace? looked at Alain. "Are you sure you killed him? You told me you couldn't do it without my help."

That did it. Mitsuki had his sword drawn and yelling, brought it down to slice at the little rat. He was stopped short by Haruhi's own quick actions, meeting sword to sword in a dreadful clash that no doubt chipped the fine edge of their blades. 

"It is you," he spat. "You who did this to him."

Haruhi pushed him back. "Mitsuki, put back your sword."

Mitsuki snarled but a cool hand on his shoulder caused him to lower his weapon. He turned his head to look at Alain, who nodded at him then jerked his head out the back door. Mitsuki bared his teeth at the shorter man, still sitting on his chair, and sheathed his sword before following Alain out to the back courtyard. 

"So that's the ex," Mitsuki said, finally recognizing where he saw him from. He was in the photograph in Alain's room, the one that was folded in half. "He's cute. I hate him."

Alain gave one of his silent laughs and loped his arm around Mitsuki's shoulders. He got the feeling that this was for his benefit rather than Alain's. Mitsuki glowered but his scowl softened when Alain leaned to nuzzle his hair. He breathed in and let out a happy little sigh that dispersed his anger. 

"So the rat didn't help you when you asked. That's why you're so fucked up." Mitsuki didn't mince his words and almost regretted them but Alain ony laughed again, softly, breathing puffs of air through Mitsuki's hair. He got the feeling that wasn't the whole story, but figured it was close enough to the truth since Alain wasn't even trying to defend Marsh?. "Okay, you killed your father around five years ago. You were twenty? Twenty-one?" 

Alain shook his head. He pulled out his notebook. Nineteen, he wrote. My birthday was a month later. I'm twenty-five now. 

"A year younger than me." Mitsuki touched the scar on his throat. "Haruhi and I left the clan when I was twenty-two, four years ago." 

Alain wrote again. I asked Matt for help, but he told me it was too soon and then he left. So I killed Father on my own.

"Then you lost your voice?"

Alain's expression grew tight and Mitsuki apologized by raising himself up and brushing his lips against Alain's. That quick caress was enough to break Alain out of his mood. 

"I am sorry."

Alain nodded, mollified and happier and he touched Mitsuki on the face. He jerked his head inside, more of a question than an imperative and Mitsuki shrugged. 

"I will try my best not to kill the rat-man. I cannot make any promises, though."

Alain laughed again. It had been an entirely bland threat, but it served it's purpose by making his Rain-chan laugh. It will do. 

"I suppose that you want us to go back in." It was starting to get cold. While sunny out, their layers were still too thin for the temperature. Alain inhaled deeply and slowly let go, and Mitsuki realized that he was more shaken then he let on. "Then we stay."

Alain considered this and shook his head. Decision made, Mitsuki led the way, making his body a physical shield for Alain. Instead Alain moved out from behind him once they reached the living room again, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Mitsuki. He gave the room a scan and then looked at Rowan and Cassius, sitting together on the sectional. Gilberta was curled up nearby, half asleep. She was on an armchair, deliberately out of the circle made by Haruhi and Mason?, several of Alain's other cousins, and Alain and himself. One of the cousins was bearded and was giving Haruhi and Mitsuki wary looks. 

Moron! shifted then started to speak. "I didn't think you were going to act. I had business and I left. If I had known you were serious, I would have stayed." He looked around the room. "I spent the next years away for my own reasons, but I heard rumours that L'Inconnu was still active so I wasn't concerned about him. Then about three years ago I heard about a vicious beast masquerading as a professional. I started to track him down and the trail eventually led me that hidden grove of yours a few days ago." 

Mitsuki mouthed at Alain. Loncunu?

Alain smiled. He tapped his chest. Me, he mouthed back.

It was a cool name, Mitsuki thought, not knowing what it meant. 

"What do you think that creature was?" asked Cassius. 

"Up to a few days ago? I thought it was Ric- Alain." Miku? looked apologetic before continuing. "I only managed to catch a glimpse of him about half a year ago and we fought once  a few months ago before he got away. He addressed me by name and title, talked to me like we were old friends. I had no reason to think that the shadow creature was anything but Richard. As I knew him, that is," he added. "But before I laid eyes on him, I thought he was Kaito of the Okabe clan."

"My cousin," said Mitsuki.

"Yes, Haruhi had said as much. That he's also in the area now is a strange coincidence."

"Wait," said the bearded cousin. He looked to Mitsuki's eyes to be quite young. "I just have one question. Are you going to try to kill us again?"

There were other Glenisle men in the room, two who looked more identical to each other than to the other men in the room. They covered their faces in a synchronized motion. "We've moved past that, Weyland. They're not here to kill us and Alain is even dating Mitsuki. Keep up."

"Okay, but... your cousin, Kaito. Is he going to try and kill us?" 

"No, Kaito is here for us, not you," said Haruhi, drawing patience from somewhere. 

"And if Kaito is in the area, then I am here for him," said Miko?. "He's caused a large swathe of damage and I am not comfortable letting him live for much longer."

Mitsuki suddenly found that he liked Micha? much better now. Not enough to remember his name, though. He had to have his priorities straight after all. 

"Kaito should be our problem to solve," he said. "We've run too often from him, brother."

"Killing Kaito may bring too high cost," said Haruhi. "He is insane. Unpredictable. Killing him may mean that I would lose my brother in the process."

Mitsuki looked at him, then started laughing. 

"That... was not the reaction I was expecting," said Haruhi.

"Brother, we are exiled and one the run because of Kaito. He hates you and he won't let up until you are dead. The only reason he wants to kill me is because it'll hurt you. Consequently," he turned to address Alain. "If I kill Haruhi to save my life, Kaito would be enraged because I would have stolen his kill from him. It's a very delicate affair."

 

Alain looked amused and nodded like he understood. 

Mitsuki felt a bloom of warmth and fondness in his chest. 

Haruhi, on the other hand, sighed. "I apologize for my brother. He was hit on the head as a child."

"It was you, brother, you caused me that injury."

"Yes, and I have lived with that regret ever since. So. Moving on. What is your proposal, Matthew?"

"I would have liked to talk to Master Donovan first, but LaReverie thinks that this may be a good idea. That's Alain's mother," he elaborated. 

Mitsuki sighed. The world of daggers and slight of hand indicated that everyone pick a stupid name for themselves. Haruhi and himself and not escaped this fate. They were Dragon's Claw and Dragon's Wing, respectively. It was dumb but Haruhi's ideas always were.

Momo? went on. "I need to go to the Monster's lair."

Alain was shaking his head. 

"I can't get in by myself. I tried. You know the locks and the secret ways, R- Alain."

Mitsuki moved to stand in front of him. He could feel Alain trembling when he pressed against his back. 

"Don't push him," Mitsuki growled. "He said he killed St. James. Why can't you take his word as it is? Does it mean so little to you?"

"Understand my frustrations," said Moron!. "I have been tracking shadow man for three years. Then he takes on the face and memories of my old friend, then the other night he appeared as the Monster himself. I've lost track of the shadow creature now, but here is an opportunity to go make sure, to go see what his fate is."

Cassius looked across the room at the twins, and Mitsuki realized that they were all three brothers. They had the same eyes, the exact same shade of blue-grey. They looked at each other, then at Rowan and Weyland, then back at Mick?.

"Matt, you're a piece of shit if you think we're going to okay sending Alain back into that hellhole."

Mitsuki felt Alain breath out a shuddering breath. 

"LaReverie will meet us there."

"Aunt Alice can only do so much. He can't stand to be in the same room as her without falling apart."

Mace? spread his hands out. "The hell happened to you, Richie? Why didn't you ask me for help?"

Alain raised his head, looked Mack? in the eye and walked away.

Mitsuki turned to join him but not before tossing out a leaving remark. "Because you said no once."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! I just hit 50k! Sorry the updates haven't been coming like I said they would, I've been focusing on writing than anything. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, the last two will follow shortly.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for heavily implied torture

Alain soon found himself ensconced on the morning seat in his room. It looked over the street below, the houses across the road and the small park to the side. He leaned back against Mitsuki's chest, safe in his arms and safe in his care. Mitsuki offered no words of comfort, but his presence said much. It was Gilly who had the words, Gilly with whom he was texting with. 

_ Why was Uncle Donovan not here?  _ His mother loved him, Alain knew this, but Donovan knew best how the men of their family were often thrown to the wolves. 

_ He hasn't be able to be contacted since the night you got back from your shooting range, she replied.  _

Alain let his head drop backwards. That could be bad news or it could be nothing. Donovan was his own man, had won his independence and the trust the family placed in him. He was free to do whatever he liked. That didn't mean that Alain didn't keenly miss his great-uncle's advice, his presence, his approval. 

He texted back. _ Should I go? _

The pause in her reply was telling.  _ I don't want you to go. _

Gilly and Rowan took him in that night when he came home bleeding and screaming. They held him between and day by day, he, Alain, slowly emerged. Before then, Gilly had been too old and Rowan too boring for him to seek out. Weak little Gilberta was their canary in the mine. If Alain couldn't contain himself, then Gilly would be the first to go. Alain knew this, knew it even as Gilberta gathered her allies within the family and they surrounded Alain like a shield. His value to them became not just his role as the family sin eater but as their beloved cousin, valued because of who he was and not what he could do. Gilly and Cassie were perhaps the sisters he never had, and he knew he was safe from them because they could never draw from him - Gilly because she lacked the strength and Cassie because she had three brothers herself and didn't need him. 

If Gilberta was worried, it was because she feared for him, him Alain, her little cousin who once pushed Rowan down to steal his cookies. 

He valued her advice, and that was not the answer to his question.

He repeated.  _ Should I go? _ He knew the answer that she was holding back from him but he needed her to say it aloud.

Her answer was long in coming, and when it did, it was,  _ Yes. I think you should. _

Gilly had no ulterior motives other than his continued well-being. Alain closed his eyes and reminded himself that, over and over. She would not want to see him unnecessarily harmed. 

He texted back two words and set his phone down.  _ Thank you. _

"We don't have to go if you don't want to," said Mitsuki. "We can just stay here forever. My sword is yours."

Alain smiled. It was a pleasant fantasy and he indulged himself entertaining it for a few minutes. Then he shook his head. He had to face his demons. 

He extracted his notepad from his pocket, the keeper of all his conversations. He burned each notepad whenever he started a new book, leaving no traces of his words. His words would be as ephemeral as his life. He would walk the earth lightly and there would be nothing of his steps. 

Alain wrote, _ If I go, you will go with me? _

"Ehhh what sort of question is that? Of course I will."

Alain smiled. He had Mitsuki at least. Mitsuki could fight all his battles for him if he so wished. 

Another lovely fantasy. 

He closed his eyes and opening them, continued to write.

_ I cannot see my mother because I am ashamed. I cannot drive because I drove my car off a bridge three years ago. I tried to destroy the gift she gave me.  _

"Ehhh all this because you destroyed a car?"

Alain closed his eyes briefly.  _ No, the gift she gave me was my life, idiot. _

Mitsuki laughed. "Okay, I'll, how you say, run interference. Where is my son, she will ask, and I will only shrug because I am a simpleton."

Alain huffed then grinned.  _ Your best stupid face. _

"Hai! The slack jawed imbecile, that's me."

Alain reached back to touch Mitsuki's face. He felt his grin, traced the sharp curve of his lips and the bite of his teeth. 

He dropped his hand down to write. _ I think I should go. _

"Then I'll go with you."

A second utterance to reaffirm the first. Mitsuki was the pillar of strength that he needed. 

He drew in a deep breath, and felt it quiver through his body. He stood before he lost the will to do so and held his hand out to Mitsuki.

He took it.

A third affirmation.

This was almost as serious as marriage. 

Alain smiled, then grinned when Mitsuki pulled him down for a kiss.

"We will do this and it's going to be okay. If it's not okay, I'll everyone and we'll go elope."

That was honestly the best proposal that Alain had ever heard. 

*

Down to a man, they vetoed Alain's Chevy in favour of Casper's SUV. They piled in under the guise of a road trip, weapons and combat garb disguised under heavy coats from the prying eyes of any neighbours and then Haruhi drove them away. Alain was in the backseat with him and Mack? was in the front beside Haruhi. They were off to Manhattan, the seat of the Monster, and where Moron! was convinced the Monster still dwelled. It was a four hour drive, and Mitsuki planned on being obnoxious. 

Well he had to be. He could tell that Alain was nervous and that he was only going to get worse. Alain missed Pigeon more than he admitted. Mitsuki was especially concerned when he asked Dr. Glenisle to look after Pigeon if he didn't return.

Gilly didn't take that very well. Mitsuki privately thought that Gilberta was stronger than she realized but it wasn't his place to tell her that. He only kissed her goodbye like he was one of her cousins and escorted Alain to the car. 

Right now, Alain had his knife in his hand, turning it around, looking at it. It was a pretty little butterfly knife with a solid silver handle. Mitsuki held his hand out for it and Alain gave it to him after a pause. He proceeded to flip it around his hand, grinning at Alain. Of course he was showing off. Of course he was. He was also distracting his Rain-chan and that was what mattered.

"Are you really playing with a knife in a moving vehicle?" Haruhi growled. Mitsuki could see that his knuckles were white as they gripped the wheel.

"Of course, brother. I'm not about to climb out the car to do so, am I?" He flipped it several times just to annoy Haruhi.

"You are going to stab someone! You are going to stab yourself!"

"Urgh brother, you are worrisome like an old woman. Do you want me to get your shawl? Find a hot brick so that you can warm your feet?"

"Spirits help me, I will crash this car."

Mitsuki sighed. "Promises, promises." He handed the knife back to Alain, who in turn earned an eternal place in Mitsuki's heart by also flipping the knife around. He was much better than Mitsuki and also showing off. They grinned at each other as Haruhi entered an apoplexy of rage. Mitsuki was much disappointed when Miles? placed a hand on Haruhi's shoulder and and whispered something to him. He didn't quite calm immediately, but the trembling rage had subsided. 

Mitsuki allowed himself a smirk. There really was no accounting for taste in some people. He sneaked a glance at Alain, and he was much more relaxed now. Good. The distraction worked. He let his hand find Alain's and held it tightly. 

He really was going to kill everyone if Alain was going to lose it.

*

A four hour drive meant at least one toilet stop. They relieved themselves and fueled up both the car and themselves and were off again. The dry sandwiches Alain got for them weren't the worst things that Mitsuki had eaten. They were filling and did the job of replenishing lost nutrients but that was about it. It was another two hour drive to Manhattan and the skies were darkening. Mitsuki was restless. He was getting riled up for a fight and he needed to act now. He could feel Haruhi's glare at him through the rear view mirror he grinned widely, baring his teeth. Alain rested his hand on his knee. It wasn't instantly calming, but there it was, his fight levels went down. 

"Can you tell us what we'll find?" He asked. 

Mack? shrugged. "I haven't been in a while, but it used to be an underground complex under the Monster's apartment building. It's in the middle of the Upper East Side. We may have to ditch the car somewhere."

"He kept his lair under his residence?"

"Yes. I was never invited, but I've heard stories of what was down there."

"And you knew what the Monster was capable of and you still did not act?"

"Like I said, the time wasn't right and then, I was waiting for Alain to contact me."

"It's a long time to go without contacting your old friend," said Mitsuki. A side glance confirmed that Alain had distanced himself from the conversation and was just staring out the window. Mitsuki took his hand and held it.

"I wasn't sure I would be welcome. We didn't part on friendly terms."

"Ehhhh, you can say it. You two had an ugly break up, yes?"

"What! No!"

Alain was biting his lip to stop from laughing.

"There was hair pulling and name calling, yes? You two said unforgivable things and now things have been awkward for half a decade. I understand. I've had breakups like that too."

"You have not," said Haruhi. "You haven't had time to have break ups."

"I meant with the clan."

Haruhi paused, pursing his lips. "Yeessss, that was a massively epic breakup," he admitted.

Mitsuki grinned. "See, I know about ugly breakups. You have a terrible one and you don't want to talk to the other person for a long time."

"No! That's not how it went at all," said Mitch? said. "We weren't going out at all!"

There were subtleties to Alain's silences. Mitsuki was finding out that he could tell the difference from a happy silence, to a pensive one, to a sullen one. This silence emanating from Alain was definitely sullen. 

"Yeah? Why not?"

"Well, he was nineteen, I was twenty-two."

"Ehhhh just an age hang up? You're a little prude, eh?"

"Jesus, you don't let up, don't you?" Mike? turned around to look at him, glaring. 

"Hah! Not when it's so clear that you and Rain-chan fought so badly that you haven't bothered looking him up in years."

Miles? opened his mouth then shut it when he looked at Alain. Mitsuki could sense how Alain was feeling just by the way Alain was gripping his hand. 

"Yeah, that was what I thought. There's more to the story." 

Moron! opened his mouth then shut it, turning back to face the passing world outside the windscreen. 

Mitsuki squeezed Alain's hand and was squeezed in turn.

*

They reached Manhattan after the rush hour and then after, Haruhi navigated to their destination with Miles? help. Alain was getting increasingly pensive as their journey continued and Mitsuki was doing his best to keep him out of his head by telling him little stories that his grandmother had told him when he was a child. It seemed to work because Alain turned his head from the window to look at Mitsuki. He didn't like the sad look in his Rain-chan's eyes, or the terror that hid deep behind that hazel gaze. 

Mitsuki kissed his wrist. "I will be there with you." Alain nodded. He closed his eyes and nodded. He knew. That didn't mean he wasn't still terrified of facing his past. Mitsuki could feel the weight of Haruhi's gaze on him and he understood his brother's concerns. Haruhi was worried that if Alain failed, he would lose not one fighter but two. For all of Miku's? apparent aptness, he was still an unknown quantity by the brothers. It is only when you have fought by another warrior's side that you know their quality. A little old fashioned, Mitsuki admitted, but sometimes you just couldn't beat old fashioned values. 

It almost seemed that after their long journey that they had reached the Monster's lair all too soon. Alain's passcard still worked for getting them through the garage, and from there the ten digit code to the private area in the garage that only the Monster and his favourites could access. 

Mitsuki wondered about that. A powerful man as St. James would have sycophants, followers who would worshiped the ground their master walked on. Powerful men like St. James loved that sort of mindless, doggish devotion. 

Personally, Mitsuki would have gotten a puppy.

Regardless, those followers would have spread the news like broken disciples that their master was dead. Mitsuki had heard about the Monster of New York all the way in his little secluded village. He has since not heard anything about his death until Alain said that he'd been killed.

Regardless, all thought of any followers that St. James would have had fled when he saw the welcoming reception that was waiting for them. 

Haruhi pulled to a stop.

They looked out the at the well-dressed trio that stood at the penthouse elevator. There was one woman, dressed all in white, and two men, dressed in red. Haruhi stiffened and Mitsuki felt a cold sweat on his hands.

"Oh," said Mitsuki. "That LaReverie." Okay, perhaps he should have made the connection the first time because, really, just how many women were running around calling themselves that. Also maybe murdering everyone and eloping would be a little difficult that he first envisioned. He turned to Alain. "You didn't say your mother was a legend." A terrifying legend. 

Alain smiled weakly. Then he unbuckled his belt and sank to the footwell and hid his head in Mitsuki's lap, gripping his hand very tightly.

Ah.

"I'll go out first," said Miles?. 

"I will accompany you," said Haruhi. 

They got out, leaving the SUV doors open so Mitsuki could hear the conversation, and or to scramble back in just in case the meeting turned out to be violent. 

It didn't. Mitsuki overheard a pleasant and civil conversation. There was a greeting, then an introduction. The SUV's windows were tinted but Mitsuki waved nevertheless when Haruhi said his name and gestured at the vehicle. Perhaps she saw him because she inclined her head gracefully. One of the red clad men broke off from the group and approached the car. He stopped at the front passenger door. 

"Your mother and we are going to down first," he said. Like all the Glenilses he'd met since, he had strong resemblances to Alain. Mitsuki then noticed that he too had hazel eyes like Alain. "Follow when you're able to."

Alain gave out a whimper but managed to raise a thumbs up in reply.

"We'll try to keep this short. Hey, we should go sailing again in the spring. It's been a while since you checked on _ Lady Dawn _ hasn't it?"

Alain nodded, face still buried in Mitsuki's lap. Mitsuki stroked his hair, keeping a wary eye on the man. The man looked somberly at Alain then at him. There was a brief smile. Mitsuki got the impression he didn't smile much. 

"I'm Kieran, that's my twin, Christian." He offered his hand to Mitsuki who took it. "Thank you for putting up with our nephew."

"It is not "putting up" if it is no chore," said Mitsuki, bristling. He got another brief smile from Kieran.

"Perhaps you'll do well for him. Remind Alain about his yacht. I think he misses the open water." Kieran nodded then left to join his siblings.

Mitsuki watched as Alain's mother, the famed and infamous LaReverie, board the elevator with her brothers, and disappeared as the doors closed. 

The Glenisles and their strong family resemblances and their many, many sets of twins. Mitsuki would almost call them inbred if it weren't for the utter lack of pronounced facial features. Individually, they looked normal and regular, even handsome if they were Alain. Together? Mitsuki had seen horror movies like this. 

Shaking the feeling off, Mitsuki helped Alain up when he started to push himself out of the footwell. He still wasn't very steady when he climbed out of the SUV and placed one hand on the vehicle as Mitsuki exited. His hand on Mitsuki's shoulder as they walked towards Haruhi and Mitch? was tightly clenched. 

"They have just reached the bottom. The elevator is coming up now," said Haruhi. 

Ah, now they wait. It wasn't a long wait, but Mitsuki took the opportunity to loosen his sword in its scabbard. Haruhi and Mack? did the same. Alain only rested his forehead on his shoulder, breathing in regular gasps. 

The elevator door dinged open, and they stepped in, Haruhi first, Mitsuki leading Alain and Mace? last. 

As elevators went, it was pretty fancy looking. There were mirrors all around and only three buttons next to the door. One with P, the middle with G and the last with D on it.

There was a bloody handprint on a mirror.

Then he noticed that Mitch? was looking down at the carpeted floor and Mitsuki followed his gaze. There was one set of footprints there. They entered, turned around and exited. They were brown on the cream of the carpets, but Mitsuki could guess that they had been red once. He also didn't need anyone to tell him that the long foot measurements would fit Alain's shoe size or the handprint would match Alain's. He already knew that they were going into a shitshow or going to witness one. This just confirmed everything. 

Haruhi shouldered his way to the front of the elevator, drawing his sword. Mitch? pulled on his mask and crouched low to the floor and Mitsuki backed Alain up until his back was against the wall. 

If they were walking into a fight, they were prepared.

And just where did Miles? get that mask anyway? It was the first time that Mitsuki had seen it and he wondered where the little man hid it. It looked like a Monkey King mask from a Chinese opera, the type that had "Made in Hong Kong" stamped on the back of it's cheap paper facing. 

Then the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

There was nobody there.

Haruhi stepped out first, cautiously, then Marvin? leapt out like a frog, twisting in the air and landed neatly on two feet. 

Haruhi had the gall to look impressed.

Mitsuki took the more conservative approach and just walked out, slowly, one hand on Alain's to keep him near. While moving, Mitsuki took stock of their environment. They were in a long concrete corridor. Mistuki could see security cameras placed at even intervals on the ceiling, but they had long been deactivated, the little red lights no longer blinking. 

The bare concrete floors were covered with Alain's bloody footprints. They were all old and brown like the ones in the elevator. There were more bloody handprints on the walls. 

"What did you do, Richard?" said Moron!, forgetting himself.

"You'd know if you'd helped," snapped Mitsuki. 

"Brother, this is not the time." Haruhi moved forward and the group moved with him. Mitsuki kept his hand on Alain's. His breathing had become laboured, and Mitsuki was concerned. Still Alain followed willingly, and that was all Mitsuji needed to lead him forward.

There were doors, openings in the concrete walls. They were at first elegant receiving rooms. Then the next looked like dining sitting rooms. There were empty cages in those rooms, empty,but large enough for a big dog. Or a human. 

While these rooms were empty, the next weren't. There was what Mitsuki could loosely call an operating table in the middle of the room. There was a body there, long dead and dried out. He had been held down. The chains that held him to the table were still there. His chest was cut open, almost elegantly, his ribs pried open, his lungs and heart and innards open to the world. It looked like he had been alive while this happened to him. Death came with when someone cut his throat. The expression on his face was not of pain but of relief. 

Mitsuki blew out a breath of air because there were cut marks on the man's chest, made presumably before his chest was cut open. They looked like the marks that he himself bore from when Alain cut into him.

He turned to look at Alain. His eyes were pressed closed.

"We can go back," Mitsuki said.

Alain shook his head. 

"Did you leave anyone else alive? Is there really a reason for you to be here?"

Alain shook his head then a very slight nod.

Mitsuki turned to Haruhi who was looking into that room with Matt. Haruhi turned and nodded, reaching in to close the door. The next room was similar to the one with the operating table, only this one had large Xs attached to the walls. There were people bound to them, spread out, their limbs tied to each stave of the X. There were two women and two men, naked, long dead from cut throats but they suffered much before they died. There were splatter marks everywhere. Alain must have been covered in blood.

The next room held cages, poor wrecks. They were all dead, killed, taken out of their cages and laid out to rest with their arms folded over their chests. Matt looked at them, then at Alain and opened his mouth. Mitsuki swore to the spirits that if the little insect said one word of censure, he would destroy him, utterly destroy him. Matt opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away. Mitsuki led Alain away. 

The last room was lit. It was the Monster's throne room, so to speak. Here were where the sycophants that Mitsuki was wondering about were. They died where they fell, unceremoniously left untouched. Mitsuki stepped over their bodies, helping Alain over them. Alain couldn't see them because he only had eyes for the corpse in the the elaborate throne at the far end of the room. LaReverie and her brothers were gathered there, standing around him. LaReverie, Alice Glenisle, was gently caressing the Monster's face.

Alain made a sound. He drew away from Mitsuki and moved on unsteady legs towards the corpse on his throne, that resplendent dead king that had been slain with a bullet in the chest by his own son. Mitsuki reached out towards Alain, but he slipped through his hand. He followed after instead. 

Alain kept his eyes locked on the corpse. He fell to his knees at his father's feet and he bowed his head, silent tears streamed down his face. 

Mitsuki went to him but stopped short when Alain's mother stepped up to his side. He was unheeding as she slowly stroked his head. 

"Are you satisfied, Monkey Man?"

Mitsuki turned, Haruhu and Mike? were at the doorway. Mace? had pushed aside his mask so that it hung off the side of his head. "Yes, I am." He looked around, his shoulders drooping.

"Now that the easy question of your quest has been answered, you must indeed search deeper for the next thread."

"Of course. I will do that, LaReverie." Mitch? screwed up his face. "Dammit, Richard. Why didn't you tell me? I would have come. I would have!"

"His name is Alain," said Mitsuki, very softly. "He has made that very clear."

Miku? closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. 

Alain gave no indication that he heard. 

Melvin? swiped his arm across his eyes. "I'll keep looking for this creature that's taken your son's form," he said. 

"Thank you. It should be my duty, but you have taken it upon yourself."

By Mitsuki's estimates, Alice Glenisle should have been in her fifties. There was, however, an ageless quality to her. Her eyes were green where her brothers and son's were hazel, and her skin smooth from wrinkles. There was an air of potent power about her and the way she walked indicated that she knew how to use the swords at her side. Mitsuki was reminded of the vision in the forest, of the brief glances of Alain as the otherworldly knight. If Alain was the knight, then here was the queen he served. 

"Of course. I'll leave now." Micha? bowed from the waist and left. Haruhi looked after him then at Mitsuki.

"It is a pleasure to have met you, Okabe Haruhi. I knew your parents once. I think that we will talk more later." It was a clear dismissal. Haruhi also bowed, and left, not breaking eye contact with Mitsuki until he was out of the room. He would go, but not far. 

Then Kieran and his twin came and they gathered Alain up in their arms and led him out, leaving Mitsuki and Alice Glenisle alone in the room together. 

Crap. 

He straightened his shoulders back and looked straight back. A small smile played on her lips and there was silence for a while as she studied him. 

Mitsuki tried his best to not feel like a worm that was newly found under a lifted rock. 

"He loves being spoiled, you know." 

That was not what he expected to hear. He blinked. "Ehhh...?"

Alice's smile warmed. "I can tell that you're devoted, and so soon. He loves luxurious things. It's why he bought a car he won't drive, it's why he has nice clothes. I raised him on the finest things in life. His experience here has caused him to lose his taste in meat, I'm sure you've noticed, but he will eat fish on occasion."

Mitsuki blinked. "Ehhh hai, I have noticed."

Alice nodded. She turned to look at the dried corpse of her son's father. "I loved him. I loved him a great deal. I had thought to get close enough to kill him but fell in love instead. Alain is much stronger than me. He broke through the geas and he lost his mind in the process."

Mitsuki hoped that he didn't look as stupid as he felt. "Ah, excuse me, Okasan." May as well start with the flattery now. She looked pleased, at least. "I am ESL. I do not think I understand." 

Alice turned back to caressing the corpse's face. "It is a little thing that our family has, a little back-up in case of disaster. If I had gone rogue, it would have been my beloved's duty to end me. The little control that we have when we truly love someone. You will always be safe from Alain from now on. Just as he won't be able to hurt you, I was not able to kill his father. In turn, however, if he goes rogue, you will be the only person who will be able to get close enough to end him."

Mitsuki sucked in a lungful of furious air. "I will never do that."

Alice regarded him calmly. "Even if it's a choice between saving hundreds or thousands? What would Alain want you to do?"

Mitsuki opened his mouth and shut it. He grit his teeth. "He is good. He will want me to save the hundreds or the thousands."

"Indeed. That little geas existed between Alain and his father as well. It took years of conditioning to train Alain up with the idea that he had this duty for his family, and he did his job well. Much sooner than I expected. The geas he had was weaker than the one that I had in regards to my beloved. Alain's mind has always been strong, and he over came his compulsion to not harm his father. His mind is broken a little, but it's repairing now. He is much improved. He is happier. Perhaps I will be able to see my son in normal circumstances in a decade. That is sooner than I had ever expected. And with you by his side, my cousins will clamor less for his death and more whisper for it on occasion."

Questions and questions and no answers forthcoming here. Mitsuki was beginning to think that his new okasan was very close to skirting on the insane. 

"I have three brothers, Mitsuki-san." Three? "And I only have one son. Unlike my cousins, I do not think my brothers are expendable. I have kept them safe all these decades and I will keep my only child safe as well. I trust that you will keep Alain safe as well."

That had an air of a dismissal. Mitsuki bowed and retreated out the door, leaving Alice Glenisle and the corpse of her lover. He found everyone else gathered at the end of the corridor. The twin uncles handed Alain over to Mitsuki. 

"We will wait for her," said Christian. "She won't be long." 

"We should be heading back to Boston," said Haruhi. "It will be a long drive."

"Of course. We'll see you there, perhaps." 

Alain leaned heavily on Mitsuki's shoulders. He was barely capable of supporting himself. Mitsuki didn't like that blank look on his face and he could tell that neither of the others did so too. They rode up the elevator in silence, entered the garage and loaded into the SUV. They drove into the night, leaving Manhattan and the underground crypt well behind in their dust. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Nano is over! I completed at 50k on the day and continued onwards. Chapter 10 will be over 10k people. It'll be up tomorrow <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: torture, descriptions of blood, sex ;)

The drive back went much faster drive to. Or perhaps Mitsuki just dozed off with Alain in his lap. He also completely missed when Haruhi and Miko? changed roles and the little guy drove instead. Mitsuki yawned and handed Alain to Haruhi before climbing out of the car. Too tired to carry Alain bodily, he shifted him to his shoulder and even that didn't wake his Rain-chan. Gilly and Cassie were in the livingroom, even at this late hour. They had pulled up to the curb closer to one in the morning than midnight. 

"Oh my god," said Cassie. "You're all alive!"

"Wait, what's wrong with Alain?" Gilly got up and went around Mitsuki. 

"Emotionally exhausted is my guess," said Micha?. "It was a complete waste of time and completely my fault."

"Even monkeys fall from trees.," said Haruhi. Mace? gave him a funny look. Haruhi continued. "Mistakes are made because we are human."

"That's not what you said the last time I broke a mug," said Mitsuki.

Haruhi ignored him. 

"I am bringing this one to bed and I will be joining him there," said Mitsuki, miffed at being ignored. 

"Of course," said Cassie. She was wiping her eyes on a tissue.

"I'll bring some tea up," said Gilly.

"Oh guys, Gilly has news," said Cassie.

"What, no!"

"Pigeon can come home tomorrow."

"Oh yes, that."

Haruhi looked unimpressed. 

Mitsuki sighed. "Good news for once."

Miles? only looked confused.

"Also Gilberta has a date with Dr. Mehta."

Gilly screeched.

Mitsuki sighed. "I cannot believe that you are withholding the pleasure of this news from Alain. I am going upstairs in outrage. Good night."

With that, he literally hauled his unconscious boyfriend up to his room. 

*

Alain was quiet when they woke the next morning. It was the quiet born from stillness. He lay with his head on Mitsuki's chest, his arm flung across his middle, keeping very close. A yawning Mitsuki told him the good news about Pigeon and that stirred Alain's interest a little. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting Mitsuki stroke the back of his head. 

"And guess what? Gilberta managed to get a date with your vet."

That was enough to make Alain snort. 

Mitsuki tucked one hand behind his head. "Do you think they'll spend the whole evening giggling? Do you think they even know how to kiss girls? I mean, I'm not even sure that Dr. Glenisle knows what flirting is. Will they just spend the whole evening discussing biology and medicine? The pros and cons of horse tranquilizers on humans?"

Alain had closed his eyes, grinning but not yet laughing. 

"We should get Pigeon a little friend. Two pigeons!" Mitsuki waggled his brows. "With two pigeons your power would increase and you would be unstoppable!"

That got a small huff of a laugh from Alain. 

Mistuki rolled him onto his back so he could rise over him and press small kisses on Alain's face and neck. He held himself up and looked at Alain properly. He had sad eyes, Mitsuki thought. He felt a spike of anger towards Miles? who had forced Alain to bring them there. Alain didn't need to relief that night. A true friend would only have needed his friend's word to believe him. Mitsuki could see the grief lingering in Alain. For all that he was a monster, Alain must have loved his father. 

Mitsuki continued, keeping his tone light. "I'm pretty sure that Haruhi has fired me from Ninja Espresso."

Alain snorted, grinning.

"That is awkward seeing as I am co-owner. I may have to sue. Do you have a good lawyer?"

Alain looked around and found where Mitsuki left his phone on the bedside the previous night. He browsed and quickly found what he was looking for and showed Mitsuki. 

"Babe, that's a cat."

Alain scrolled to show Mitsuki the blurb. 

"Just because someone's made a webpage saying that he's a lawyer doesn't mean that he is. I actually want to win this suit."

Alain typed into his phone and showed Mitsuki.  _ We roomed at Harvard together. He graduated top of his class. _

Mitsuki narrowed his eyes at him. Alain only smiled angelically. 

"There is a joke in there somewhere, and when I find where, someone is going to be the victim of a tickle fight." He squinted at the phone screen. "Does he take cash, credit or mice?"

_ And favours _ , wrote Alain. 

"Ahhhhh he is a yokai then. A spirit, yes? You should have said so. It makes sense now."

_ Or an independent familiar, _ added Alain.  _ An animal bound by magic to a wizard or a witch. I didn't pry. _

"This is Harry Potter stuff, yes?"

Alain rolled his eyes. 

"Do you have a wand? Does your Uncle Donovan have a wand? Does Lawyer Neko-san have a wand?"

Alain gave him a dirty look, but Mitsuki could see the slight lift to the corner of his mouth. He rested his chin on his hand. "So! I think that I shall be industrious today. I will get you out of bed, shower, then bring us down for breakfast. I will need to work out, so if no one minds I can do that in the living room, yes? Push the coffee table aside and there's room for some yoga and stretches. You can join if you like. Maybe I'll check in on Haruhi, see if he hasn't made any unwise decisions regarding the business. Sometimes you cannot trust your business partner."

Alain's shoulders were shaking and he was smiling. 

"Sometime today, I think Dr. Glenisle will bring back Pigeon, or maybe Cassie will. Don't they work? Anyway, we will spoil Pigeon when he comes home. We will have an easy day where you don't need to do anything if you cannot."

Alain was still smiling, the sun was surely shining outside and maybe the birds were even singing.

*

Showered and shaved, Alain still managed to spend the rest of the day in pajamas. He curled up on the sofa while Mitsuki exercised as promised then had a nap while Mitsuki when to visit  _ Ninja Espresso _ .  He reported that Haruhi hadn't sold the business in his absence but he was extremely miffed that Mitsuki hadn't come in for his shift. The cafe had to be closed the previous day and Haruhi was debating the practicality of keeping it open when they didn't actually need the income. It was the principal of the thing that made Haruhi open when he can, Mitsuki explained. 

"But we'll discuss that later. He says he'll be coming with Monty? over for dinner if that's alright with the ladies."

_ Monty? _

Mitsuki shrugged. "You know, the short guy."

You mean  _ Matt. _

"Yeah, Miles, that's it." Mitsuki nodded.

_ Matt. _

"Yes, you said. Mike."

Alain looked at him in a way that said volumes that he was trying to fight a smile.

"What? What's so funny?"

Alain shook his head but Mitsuki could still that he was still amused. Mystified, Mitsuki shrugged again. "Okay, so, you and the little guy never dated?"

Alain shook his head again. 

"But you wanted to."

That answer was a long, steady gaze that Mitsuki took as an affirmative. "Pfft. Don't see why. He's dense like a block. I'm not jealous. I'm clearly a hundred times more charming and skilled than he is."

A little smile was playing on Alain's lips and his eyes were dancing with lively amusement. 

"Okay, tell me what he can do that I can't."

Alain huffed with silent laughter, reaching for his notepad. 

_ He can scale a wall. _

"I can do that."

_ He can leap across distances. _

"I can glide. That's the same."

Alain didn't like he doubted his claims, but he still looked like he found something funny.

_ He can be embodied by the powers of the Monkey King. _ Alain set his pen down then propped his chin on his hand, grinning his kitsune grin.

Mitsuki squinted at the words, then looked up at Alain. "Is that why he's so small and kickable?"

Alain just snickered. It was the first true laugh that Mitsuki had heard from him and he just grinned. Cassie came down the stairs then. She looked at Alain then at him. She studied Mitsuki for a long moment then nodded. She came to join them at the kitchen counter. "Anything new?" she asked.

"On which front? I haven't heard anything all day."

"It just feels too quiet, you know? Casper and Cassidy are going to go check on Uncle Donovan after they get back from work, then they're going to come here to report."

"Good, Haruhi is coming for dinner and he's going to bring Micha."

Alain mouthed "Matt" at her confused expression. 

"He also said that he's going bring dinner. He made a face of disgust at that so I think he's going to bring burgers."

Alain snickered again.

"Yes, it will be terrible for brother. He thinks American food is has no morals." Mitsuki kept his face completely still and expressionless. "Do not even talk to him about the hot dog. You have not yet seen a man break into fits of fury over a bit of processed meat." From the corner of his eyes, Mitsuki could see Alain had covered his face in his arms, his shoulders shaking. Mitsuki shook his head sadly. "Let us not even mention the pizza. Yes, we in Japan do have the pizza, and it is such a slight upon our traditional diet that we were forbidden by the clan elders to even look at a slice of pizza. The first time Haruhi had tried one, he fell so violently ill that he has since banned the pizza from his sight." Mitsuki clutched his chest. "It pains me but I must keep to my brother's wishes. He is all I have left and not even my love of pizza will separate us." He sniffed heroically. 

Alain made a high pitched pained sound, his shoulders still shaking. 

Cassie looked between them, a smile threatening to break out on her lips. 

"I was going to say, Casper and Cassidy were going to bring dessert. Your brother has no objections towards pastry, custard and chocolate?"

"Spirits no. He was a tubby little boy. I have pictures."

Alain was irrecoverably now trapped in gales of silent laughter. 

Gilly came by a little later, Dr. Manissha Mehta with her. She also had Pigeon with her, to Alain's delight. Their reunion was tearful on Alain's part, full of Pigeon's territorial croo-cooing on the bird's part. The little bird still had a large row of stitches across his breast but he sat happily in Alain's hands and allowed Mitsuki to feed him some bird seed. He was put back into his travel box after a while so he could get more rest and Mitsuki sat on the sectional, his arm around Alain as he put his own arm protectively around Pigeon's box. 

Haruhi, too arrived, Mitch? in tow. He had sacks of food in front of him like he required the shield of good will from his previous attack. He handed them out and threw a bag right at Mitsuki, who caught it deftly. He opened it, handed a burger to Alain, took one for himself and munched on a handful of fries.

"Spirits, you're classless," he said to Haruhi. "No ketchup packs? Fries without ketchup is like fucking without lube."

Alain choked on his burger, bent his head over his knees, laughing silently again.

Honestly, Mitsuki could never get tired of that. He would be as crass as possible if only to make Alain laugh like that. 

Haruhi's face had gone an interesting shade of red. He quickly glanced at Morton? for his reaction then hissed at Mitsuki. "Have you no shame? Watch your language."

Mitsuki held up a single fry, and watch it droop softly to the side. "With the fries you brought us? Brother, please, these impotent things need life, not polite words."

Haruhi's face got even redder. Mitsuki wondered just how much more red he could get before he had a stroke. "You are a fool, brother."

Cassiopeia sighed the sigh of a sister with too many brothers. "Haruhi-san, he's just doing it to make Alain laugh. I don't know your brother as well as you do, but you should not take offence at his words."

What a wet blanket, Mitsuki thought. Still he smirked at his brother. 

Haruhi pointed a shaking finger at him. "You! Are a disgrace."

"I know," said Mitsuki, smug and smirking. 

Haruhi continued glaring at him until Miku? cleared his throat. "I couldn't find any trace of the shadow creature or Okabe Kaito anywhere around town. I checked places seen and unseen and could not find even a whisper of either. I will go out again tomorrow but I am fast running out of ideas." He looked at Alain, opened his mouth, then shut it, looking away. 

Cassie shrugged, looked at Gilberta and Manissha in the kitchen who were enjoying a glass of wine before they went out to dinner, then back at the group. "We will just need to ramp up our protections. And Alain, you will need to keep up your training." Mitsuki was glad that she didn't add anything about Alain being lazy. He liked Cassie, not as much as he liked Dr. Glenisle, but he would not be able to trust his protective instincts if Alain were to be insulted.

Alain nodded.

"I'll help," said Mitsuki. He received a small smile for his efforts. Alain looked at the burger in his hands and set it down. 

Ah!

Mitsuki stood to go into the kitchen where he fetched a plate and a knife. Returning, he placed the burger on the plate and cut it in half, then cut that half into smaller pieces. Wordlessly, he handed the plate back to Alain before working on the rest of his burger, then the next.

The rest of the conversation had died off as Haruhi and Milton? scoffed down their food like the delicious burgers were merely a carrier of carbs and protein. Cassiopeia gave them all bemused looks and opened her mouth.

Nothing came out. She seemed frozen. Alain was the first to notice, and he made a querying sound. Things still seemed very normal up to when Cassie was suddenly flung backwards by an invisible force. 

Someone screamed. Mitsuki hoped it wasn't him. Then he watched as Cassie was dragged across the room and up the wall opposing wall before the force dropped her to the ground. She was bleeding from where her head was cut and she was still alive, groaning. Alain tried to get to her, but the coffee table was in the way. Haruhi and Morgan? were closest but were too slow as the force now picked her up and threw her against into the kitchen. Someone screamed again, and Gilberta was on her, holding her down, but the force was much stronger. Cassie was lifted again, Gilberta dangling from her, not letting go. Then Haruhi was there and Miku?, too. Both struggled to keep Cassie from being hurled around again. Mitsuki joined them, adding his strength to theirs. They still struggled. Cassiopeia was groaning something, her blood was all over them. Mitsuki looked over his shoulder for Alain and saw that his Rain-chan had his butterfly knife out. He was flipping it over his hand, back and forth, over and under, and in his other hand, he was gathering a golden orb like a miniature sun. Gilberta collapsed and Cassie's body grew limp before he finally brought knife and handful of golden light together. Then he stepped forward, intent and purpose in his stance and set determination in his face as he brought the knife into a sharp slash across the empty air.

The invisible force that held Cassie was suddenly gone, and she fell into their arms. 

Mitsuki and Dr. Mehta checked on Gilberta. She was merely unconscious. Rowan was suddenly there, stark naked and pillow lines still on his face. He checked his sister first, then his cousin. Incredibly, Cassiopeia was still conscious. 

"Cassidy," she said in a weak voice. "Casper. Cassidy. Casper."

Alain already had his phone out and dialed a number before handing it to Mitsuki. He mimed that he should talk before he ran up the stairs.

"Can anyone tell me what just happened?" asked a tearful Manissha. 

"Not yet," said Rowan.

Mitsuki checked the caller ID and saw that Alain had rung his uncle Kieran. He listened to the dial tone. It picked up after five rings. 

"Alain?" asked Kieran.

"No, it is Mitsuki. Something strange and terrible has happened." He quickly relayed the strange and terrifying events. 

"I'll need to call this in," said Rowan. "I think she has internal bleeding."

"There are going to be questions," said Mitch?.

"We'll handle them when we get there." Rowan, too, got on his phone, hurrying to his room presumably for pants.

"Mitsuki, we're still in New York. We're four hours away. We're leaving now but I need to ask you a favour. I need to ask you to go to Donovan's house, look for Casper and Cassidy."

"I don't think you need to ask me. Alain's going with or without me." Mitsuki could hear Alain coming down the stairs. 

"I expected nothing less. Take care and watch his back." Kieran signed off. 

Allain appeared. He'd dressed quickly, shucking off his pajama pants for his armoured leggings. Mitsuki could see them above the grey cargo pants he'd pulled over them. Presumably he was also wearing the matching vest under the military style-sweater and the leather jacket over that. Gloves and heavy boots completed the outfit. He tossed Mitsuki's breast plate at him, holding his swords. The bag he set at his feet was heavy.

Manissha was holding an unconscious Gilberta's hand. Tears were in her eyes. "Please, someone, tell me what's going on."

Mitch? washed Cassidy's blood off his hands. "There's an evil wizard in town and he just attacked Cassie's brothers. We're going to go defeat him now."

Haruhi also stood. "Where did they go?" He was looking at his brother. Alain retrieved his phone back from Mitsuki and showed Haruhi the address. 

"Beacon Hill isn't far. I'll gather my weapons and see you there." He looked at Mace? and they left, already a team. Mitsuki strapped on his chest-plate over his tee shirt and pulled his sweater over. He turned to Rowan who just said, "Go, I've got this."

Alain pointed at Pigeon's box and Rowan nodded. "I'll call Ivy. Esme and Havelock too. She'll need to come and provide back up anyway."

Alain nodded and he and Mitsuki walked out, Alain tossing Mitsuki the keys to his Chevy. There was a tense silence in the car when Mitsuki started the car and drove. Questions ran through his head, the same questions that he imagined that Alain had. He could barely recall Grand-Uncle Donovan in his head, but he had heard Alain's cousins speak about him often. He had an image of a tall man with iron-grey hair and green eyes but little else. By his side, Alain was prepping his handguns. 

"Do you think that Donovan is behind this?"

Alain shook his head but his nostrils flared. Mitsuki understood. If Alain's grand-uncle was involved, then Alain was ready to spill blood.

Traffic was frustrating at this peak hour. The normally ten minute drive promised to take three times as long. Mitsuki growled in frustration. He wished he had reassuring words but Alain knew as well as he did that his cousins, if not dead, then were certainly dying. 

"We'll get there in time for them," was the best he could manage. Alain squeezed his knee. Then he kissed the tips of his fingers and pressed them to Mitsuki's lips. Mitsuki kissed them back. "Right," he said. "Yes. Head in the game."

The street was very still when they got there. There should have been a few people returning home from work, a few more walking their dogs or exercising, but when Mitsuki passed the lane where Donovan Glenisle's house was located, he could see nothing but dimmed streetlights and shadows. He found a park and they got out.

Beacon Hill was one of Boston's oldest suburbs. There were large, old brownstones where the lanes that led to them were narrow and cobbled, creating a very cosy, picturesque little area where tourists flocked in the summer. The cold and darkness made that impossible to imagine. 

Mistuki and Alain got out of the yellow Chevvy and they were joined  a few minutes later by Haruhi and Mason?. Haruh had clearly fared better with the traffic on Mitsuki's motorcycle. They dismounted and they walked down the lane as one. Mitsuki described the layout of Donovan's house informed by Alain. 

"There are four stories, like the house at South End. The basement level, the reception level, the bedroom level and the attic where Alain says is where Donovan's laboratory is. He's normally up there, Alain says. He's never been to the basement. And he says we have to call him Mr. Chip when we see him."

"See whom?"

They were at Donovan's house then. There was a small white shape on the doormat. He lifted his head and he turned out to be a small white dog. He stood and padded down the steps to sit at the foot of the stairs. Alain knelt and offered him his hand. Mr. Chip put his paw in Alain's hand and whined. He looked at everyone in the group then trembling, whined again. 

"Ahhhhh I think this is Mr. Chip," said Mitsuki. "Hello Mr. Chip." He looked at Haruhi.

"This is stupid," he grumbled. "Hello, Mr. Chip."

Mitsuki looked at Mike? next. Mack? looked like he was fighting a grin. "Hello, Mr. Chip."

Mr. Chip's trembling stopped. He stood on his back legs and gave Alain a lick on the chin. He dropped down to his feet climbed up the steps then sat beside the door. He whined and trembled again. 

Alain stood and was about to climb the steps when Mitsuki put a hand on his elbow. "I should go first. And maybe we should leave a coat for the dog?" It was a cold night.

Mr. Chip was made of trembles. His little black eyes bulged urgently and he licked his little button nose. His feathery tail wagged hopefully.

Alain shook his head, indicating he needn't bother. Mace? added, "I think he's Master Donovan's familiar."

"We have tarried enough," said Haruhi. He pushed past Mitsuki and went up the stairs. He placed a hand on the door and pushed it open. It swung silently. Alain placed a hand on Mitsuki's elbow and followed after. 

"I'll take rear," said Mitch?.

Mitsuki refrained from saying anything. He followed after Alain, passing the little white dog with the big, watery eyes, then stepped aside. Once inside, he moved to the side to make room for Morgan?. 

The house was quiet and cold. It seemed dark despite that the lights were lit. The room they were in could only be called the library. There were sitting chairs, but there were shelves upon shelves of books. Interspersed amongst the books were mirrors and other reflective surfaces. He stepped forward and there was a crunching under foot. There were pieces of broken mirror all over the carpeted floor.  He looked at Alain and he was frowning. Mace? came in behind him and closed the door very quietly. 

Haruhi turned to Alain, with a raised brow, as if saying what first. Alain pointed to the back of the house then pressed his finger to his lips. Nothing needed to be said. They were all quiet, alert for where an attack might come out of nowhere. Haruhi went first, moving to what Mitsuki guessed was towards the kitchen and dining area. There was no glass here, the kitchen and dining were relatively tidy. There was a folded newspaper on the breakfast table in the kitchen, a cold cup of tea and an equally cold teapot. Two bowls sat on the floor, one filled with water, the other with food. They both had "Mr. Chip" written on them. 

Alain then pointed to the door beside the pantry. Mitsuki felt his spine stiffen and his hand tremble at what was clearly the door to the basement. Haruhi, too, hesitated. Miles? looked at them both and went instead. With his sword drawn in one hand, he opened the door with the other. Alain, too, drew his handgun. He indicated with quick signs that the Okabe brothers should stay up here while he and Miku? investigated the lower level. 

Mitsuki didn't like it, but this just meant that he and Haruhi had their backs while they were down there. He nodded and Alain followed after Micha?.

Time ticked on. Haruhi and he stayed alert for any threat on this level. Alain and Milo? came back up presently, shaking their heads. The bedroom level then. Haruhi went first again, going slowly and testing each carpeted floorboard before he put his weight on each step of the stair. Haruhi had always been good at Nightingale floors, so a potentially creaky staircase was little challenge.

They remained attentive, and when they reached the bedroom level, Alain raised his gun, and put his back to the wall in a way that he guarded the the stairs up to the next level. Haruhi, Mitsuki and Monte? spread out. There were three rooms on this level, not including the bathroom. Mitsuki glanced in and noted that there was no one there, then he checked on the far back room. It was Donovan's room, sans Donovan. Like the rest of the house, it was relatively neat. The bed was made and had a lovely view of the window and there was a small dog bed nearby.  He pulled out from the room and looked at the rest. They all shook their heads. The last floor was it then. 

Then as they were about to go up the stairs, there was a thud and a muffled cry. 

 

They stiffened then Miles? placed a hand on Haruhi's arm. He indicated he should go first because he was smaller. Haruhi nodded, agreeing. Mitch? moved like water as he crawled up the last flight of stairs. He kept low to the ground and moved on all fours until he turned the corner and reached the top. After a moment he indicated that they should follow after.

There was some good sound muffling properties to the staircase because it was only now that Mitsuki could hear someone shouting. Someone was raging, shouting about bloodright and inheritance. Mitsuki heard something else about usurpers and backstabbing relatives. He exchanged a look with Haruhi, who frowned.  Alain only shrugged when Mitsuki looked at him and Mike? looked equally mystified. Mace? edged upwards and the others followed after until they could all see into the attic. it was a large open area, with sloped in walls that formed the roof of the house. There were tables all around the edge of the room, each filled with a contraptions and bubbling liquids that Mitsuki had no name for. At the end of the room was a large window from which a rather large telescope was positioned. 

There was a great number of mirrors and cameras in the room. They were now all broken. There were five figures in the room. Two were prone and bleeding from open wounds, their limbs twisted unnaturally. They were thankfully unconscious. Mitsuki realised that they were the twins Cassidy and Casper. Their chests moved, but so slightly, but they still lived. There was another man on the floor, spread on his side and his arm held up as if to ward off a blow. That must have been Donovan. 

Then there were the two figures standing. One was the shadow man that looked, and still looked like Alain. The other was none other than Kaito. 

It had been him who was yelling and he was still shouting. He switched from Japanese to English within a heartbeat and switched back again.

"I know you understand me, old man! Don't you understand that I am already more powerful than all your unnatural yellow haired creatures? None of them can stop me! I stopped you, didn't I? My brother here knows your secrets. See? I must be a Gleinisle. I even have a twin." Kaito and the shadow man laughed. 

"That," said Donovan. The old man sounded tired. "That is just a construct born from the nightmares of one of my nephews. That is not even a real Glenisle."

"Shut it, old man." The shadow man stepped forward, his white eyes aflame. "I am as real as you are. More real as he is."

Miku? looked back at the others and pointed to the work benches and made a pincer claw with his hand. He crawled towards one and crouched low. Haruhi exchanged a glance with Mitsuki and they started moving together on the other side of the room, still hidden by Donovan's various collections. Alain readily went to crawl beside Mitch?.

Mitsuki wished he had a better idea of how Alain's power's worked. He wished he had a better understanding so that he could gauge how well his Rain-chan could do in a fight.

"I am your grandson! I am your blood! Why won't you give me your powers?"

"And I keep telling you, a wizard's power doesn't work that way. I trained for fifteen years before my master was satisfied that I had the necessary basics."

"Argh! Lies!" Kaito kicked the old man in the hip. Donovan shouted and groaned, clutching his hip. "Teach me how to use my Glenisle powers!"

"It's impossible that you have any Glenisle powers! I keep telling you that you need to have been born from a Glenisle woman for that to happen!"

"Lies and lies! Lies is all that anyone will tell me!"

Haruhi caught his attention again and they nodded. They leapt out, clearing over the workbenches and landing in the clear area in the centre of the room. Swords out, they rushed at Kaito, attacking as a coordinated duo. They took Kaito by surprised. He shrieked and gestured wildly with his hands. Two shadowy black swords materialised in his hands, and working quickly Mitsuki slashed through the air, using the power of the Dragon's Wing's to eat through the forming swords.

Kaito snarled and avoided Haruhi's strike by leaping backwards. He tumbled through the air and landed near his stack of weapons. Kaito managed to pull out his sword and unsheathe it before Haruhi and Mitsuki could clear the workbench to get near enough to attack. Several of Donovan's glass flasks of mysterious substances wobbled and smashed to the floor when the workbench was bumped.

Unnoticed, the old man groaned. "Five months," he muttered to himself as he pulled himself towards Cassidy and Casper's unconscious bodies. "Five months of work."

Mitsuki harried Kaito with his blade until he was between the two brothers, an unenviable position. Caught unawares, Kaito received a cut on the arm from Haruhi. 

From this new angle, Mitsuki could see that Mitch? and Alain had engaged with the shadow man, the Shadow Alain or Richard or whatever it called itself. 

"Kaito! I don't want to kill you, but I will," said Haruhi. 

"That is where we are different, cousin! I do want to kill you! You are dishonorable and you must die!" 

"I am dishonorable? Pah! You grow more delusional by the minute."

"But at least I will be alive!"

With inhuman speed, Kaito fended off the attacks from both Mitsui and Haruhi. He leapt backwards again, landing on the top of a workbench and knocking more of Donovan's work over. 

From the brief glances of Alain's fight, Mitsuki could see that he and Mason? had an even tougher fight on their hands. They were't as well seasoned a team that he and Haruhi were, and the shadow man was a wily opponent. Mitsuki saw the creature shift shape into and out of several forms, changing at will now that the psychological advantage of appearing as Alain was lost.

Then he had to pay attention to his own fight with Kaito. Haruhi had already leaped to the top of the workbench and had engaged Kaito in a close-ranged sword fight. Kaito had thought that he had the advantage He was keeping Kaito well distracted, enough for Mitsuki to take Kaito off at the knees. With one fell swipe, Mitsuki performed a well practiced and well executed upwards slash, then changing the sword's direction, brought it back down into a second stroke, finishing the move. 

Kaito screamed. He fell to the floor, dropping his sword as he fell. His lower legs also fell. One to the workbench top and the other dropped and landed with a dull thud. Blood flowed everywhere, and Kaito kept screaming. He clutched the bleeding stumps of his legs to stifle the blood loss.

"This is not happening! This is not happening! I was meant for greater things! I was not meant to die like this!"

Mitsuki raised his sword again. "No, but you will." He was about to slash at Kaito's head but Haruhi stopped him.

"No, we cannot kill a member of our family like this."

"Why not! He is willing to kill us!"

"Whining wretch!" The shadow man broke off from his fight with Mike? and Alain. "I thought I chose better!" 

Alain gave a wordless shout and shot at the shadow man before he could get to Haruhi and Mitsuki. Haruhi readied himself, gathering the strength of the Dragon's Claw, the potency of his power leaking into the material world as a rippling aura of red light. 

"Pathetic!" The shadow man reached Kaito and stood over him. He looked back at Alain and pointed. "You will see. I don't know how you survived when I killed you just now, but you will see that I am the better Richard. I am the better son. When he sees me, he will want me to take over his empire. Your corpse will just be the stepping stone to my triumph!"

Alain made a confused sound. 

Mitsuki cleared his throat.

Kaito wasn't involved in the conversation and just wailed.

"You do know that Alain's dad is dead, yes?" asked Mitsuki.

The shadow man stood stock still. "What did you say?"

Alain nodded. Mitchell? pointed at him. "He killed his father about five years ago. You're behind the times, you know."

"What falsehoods are you spinning?"

Donovan sighed the heavy sigh of a tired man. "I had forgotten he used to talk like that," he said. 

"It is true," said Haruhi. "We visited the long dry corpse of Richard St. James just last night." He paused. "I apologize, but we neglected to take selfies with him as proof."

Mitsuki had never been so proud of his older brother.

The shadow man screamed.

Kaito was also still screaming.

Then the shadow man bloomed into smoke and absorbed Alain whole. 

Frankly, Kaito still yelling was Mitsuki's mood right now.

*

Alain was absorbed by the smoke cloud so quickly he didn't even have time to raise his guns. They were still there in his hands but he was not about to start shooting blindly. He had no way of knowing just how opaque the cloud was and he couldn't risk hitting any of his allies. 

He stood still, a patient man against an angry foe. His guns hung by his sides and he waited. 

The Obsidian man materialized in front of him. He formed and sharpened himself until he was the spitting image of Alain. No, that wasn't true. He was Alain when he was nineteen, the curve of youth still in his cheeks. His white eyes were rage incarnate. 

"You," he snarled. "You have taken everything from me. You've taken my place, my name, and my father."

Alain just grinned. 

"Well? Speak up! I am Richard St. James, son of Richard St. James! Whatever you can do, I am better at everything and anything that you can do." The Obsidian man scowled, glaring at Alain.

Alain remained as he was, quiet and smiling like he knew something the Obsidian man didn't.

Suddenly, the Obsidian man lurched forward with a hoarse shout. Hand outstretched, he grasped Alain's head and suddenly everything went dark for him. Then he was there, back in the basement, Mitsuki tied to a chair and bleeding. It was different. His eyes were large and pleading, and he would be begging but his tongue was already cut out and was lying on the table in front of him.

"I see you," said a voice in his ear. "I see you here. You're more like me than I realized. We are the same. We are brothers. Are you my twin? I don't remember this, but I see you."

The knife was in his hand, the gaudy little silver butterfly knife that his father gave him when he was a boy. 

"His eyes are pretty. We'll take them last." 

Alain could not stop the hand that descended and cut into Mitsuki's ear. He could not stop it as the sharp bladed slowly sawed off the ear, could not stop it as it wiped the bloody blade across Mitsuki's bare shoulder. Alain didn't remember it this way. Mitsuki had his shirt on, but the Mitsuki here was bare to the skin, nude and choking on the open wound where his tongue used to be. His fear pierced Alain to the heart. His fierce, beautiful Mitsuki, his blade and friend and so much more. 

Alain tried to cry out, but his throat felt swollen tight. His own mouth refused to work and he could only watch and watch as the knife descended again and again and again. Each time a new piece was cut from Mitsuki, it would be laid neatly on the table. Finally, it stopped. Mitsuki's shoulder was a bloody mess of ragged flesh, inexpertly cut. Alain could see where the knife had cut through to the bone. It was different from last time. The Mitsuki then had been defiant, almost taunting Alain through the agony bestowed upon him. The Mitsuki of now was defeated, a small broken creature that Alain's knife was keen to deconstruct inch by precious inch, a sad exhausted ruin that sat with his head bent and blood and saliva dripping from his open mouth. 

"Ahhhhh, this is work, brother!" said the voice in his ear. "Do you remember the feasts Father prepared for us? Such delicacies! We must not spoil our appetite, but perhaps a little snack."

Alain saw his hand reach out and pluck a long strip of Mitsuki's skin. It was still wet with blood, raggedly red on one side where flesh had been saw off along with the skin. He felt his mouth open and dropped the strip of skin past his lips. Alain thought he would choke and gag, only he didn't. It was worse because he was actually enjoying himself, enjoying the iron tang of the blood, the salt of the salty skin, the chew and the final swallow. 

Alain wanted to scream. 

"Wasn't that delicious? We have not eaten like that in years, brother! You have denied yourself! See? This tender morsel has only more to offer. Let's try his ear next."

It was crunchy under his teeth. He could feel the cartilage break as his mouth worked through it. He chewed and chewed and finally swallowed.

"Magnificent!"

His hand reached out and gently lifted Mitsuki's chin upwards. Tears were falling from Mitsuki's brave eyes, streaking through the blood stains on his face. He looked almost uninjured from this angle with his mouth closed. 

Then Alain saw his hands grip Mitsuki's head and twist it sharply to the side and Mitsuki screamed again as Alain could not stop himself as he dove at Mitsuki and gnawed off his ear.

_ Wake up. _

Alain screamed in his own head, trapped in this nightmare that had all the hallmarks of his father's impressions. He had spent years trying to avoid thinking of his father's deeds but there was only the things that he taught Alain. Blood. Meat. Bone. There were still the tender sweetmeats in the body yet. So many applications, so flexible was the human body for gourmet delights. 

_ Wake up. _

He could spend days on Mitsuki. Such excellent physique. Then after that, there was the brother. And after that, there were Alain's cousins. He would consume them all and it would be heavenly.

_ Wake up. _

Alain twitched his hand. The voice in his ear didn't notice. He was still spinning fantasies and futures for them. Alain twitched his other hand, and again the voice was too distracted by his own imagination.

_ Good. Take back your body. _

Alain pushed. The voice didn't yield.

_ You are Alain Glenisle. Your mind has always been strong. Take back your body. _

Alain screamed and then pushed.  He pushed with all his might and everything that made him Alain. He thought of Mitsuki and his wolf-like smile. He thought of Gilberta, ever suffering, ever loving. He thought of Cassie who was kind and he thought of Cass and Rowan who anchored him on a daily basis. He thought of Matt, who thought he was coming back to the old Alain, Richard the violent teenager who thought he loved him, and lastly, he thought of his mother's brothers, and then his mother, the light that he had always faced.

And he was awake, something sticky under his cheek. 

His eyes opened and he scanned the room. Matthew was on the ground, bleeding from a bullet wound in the side. His breathing was laboured and there was blood on his lips. Mitsuki and Haruhi were still fighting, but they had been backed into a corner. Kaito had stopped screaming, very likely dead by now. Alain lifted his head and saw that Donovan was looking straight at him. Alain gave him a small nod, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver knife. Then very slowly, he climbed to his feet. His head still didn't feel like he had pulled his consciousness together, but if there was one thing that he remembered, it was that he had a pear in his pocket.

He took it out. It was as fresh and incorrupt as the day he'd received it. He heard Donovan inhale sharply. Alain flipped the knife open and cut deeply into the pear, letting the clear juice run over his gloved hands. Then he walked towards the Obsidian man. 

Haruhi and Mitsuki had their backs to the wall, desperately fending off the Obsidian man's attacks. He was now freed from the idea that he had to keep to a single human shape and he had grown dark tendrils, each tipped with a tagger sharp point. The brothers were bleeding where their guard had slipped. Haruhi looked like he was having trouble holding his sword up but neither he nor Mitsuki looked like they were ready to give up.

Alain leaped on to the Obsidian man's back. He felt the creature shudder in surprise. What now passed for a face turned, the white eyes blazing out in outrage and the gaping maw howling in anger.

It was just perfect for Alain to shove his hand through. Only one half of the pear dropped from his hand, but that was enough. It was more than enough. He dropped and rolled away, his back coming up against the side of a workbench and he had a front row seat to see what happened to someone who ate a pear form an Elder tree in the Glenisle orchard. 

First, he became Richard again. His form shrunk back to look how Alain looked when he was younger, wilder. Alain looked at him sadly, this brother who was not a brother, who was not even human, how the Obsidian man looked at his hands, at how the darkness faded until he was clear and iridescent, no longer an Obsidian man but a man of Prism glass. Then he looked at Alain, his baleful white eyes were now soft and a pale duck's egg blue. 

Then he faded away and was gone.

"The fuck just happened," said Mitsuki.

There was still half a pear in his hand. Alain climbed to his feet and went around to where Donovan lay and offered the fruit to his grand-uncle.

Donovan shook his head. "I only need half. Take the other half. You're strong enough."

Alain still felt like he was in a daze. He sliced the pear in half again and gave one to his uncle.

"And someone give me a mirror or a camera. I need to see about helping these two."

Cassidy and Casper. Cassidy looked more injured than Casper. Alain had no healing abilities, could only totter on his feet. He ate his piece of pear almost absently.

Mitsuki shouted.

Nothing happened. 

Donovan needed a mirror. 

"Kaito is dead," said Haruhi. He sounded so far away. 

"Mitch will live, but he needs to go to the hospital." Mitsuki quickly pressed Matthew's coat against his wound. Haruhi was there and he took over.

"Bring him," said Donovan. "Alain. Check around the back workbench, please." He was getting to his feet.

Thinking he was being directed to a mirror, he went over. There was no mirror. There was only Cassius. He was shot in the head and the chest. He must have made a sound because Mitsuki was there by his side. "It's Cass," he said.

"Yes," said Donovan, sadness in his voice. "He was killed just before you arrived. The shadow Richard mistook him for Alain and Cass never corrected him, he just played along." 

Haruhi spoke. "We need to call an ambulance."

Mitsuki reached down and pulled something from under Cass' coat. It was a hand mirror. He held it up then turned and handed it to Donovan. The old wizard took it carefully, holding it in his hands like a precious object. "There was a break in," he said. "My three nephews and their friend Matt was visiting, and one was killed, the other three were heavily injured."

"What about Kaito?" asked Mitsuki. Alain still hadn't looked at him. There was a wrongness in his stomach. He looked at the knife in his hand. It was sticky with pear juice but all Alain saw was blood. 

He heard screaming, hoarse, terrified screaming.

"I am good at illusions. There will be no questions about Kaito. Let me call the ambulance. You may stay and I will hide you. There will be no questions."

He pulled out his phone and dialed in the number, his voice steady as he spoke to the operator.

Haruhi and Mitsuki spoke softly, discussing what they knew about Kaito's ancestry and his claims to being related to the Glenisle family. Donovan joined them after a while, confirming that he and Kaito's grandmother had been intimate.

"But not our grandmother," said Mitsuki with relief. "Kaito and we share a great-grandmother. Phew! For a moment there I thought we would have to break up." He grinned at Alain.

Alain wasn't listening. He was looking at his knife, looking at how he remembered the blood stained the lines and cracks of the blade. Remembering how he once had to take the whole knife apart so he could clean the dried stains from the metal.

"Hey, babe?" 

Alain looked up. Mitsuki was so close that Alain could touch him.

He was so close that Alain could stab him. 

Alain made a strangled sound, dropping his knife.

Visions of Mitsuki appeared before his eyes. Mitsuki with his ears torn off, with his lips chewed off and his eyes pried out. Mitsuki holding his own innards as he was forced to walk around a room. Mitsuki choking on his own flesh, carved from the meat in his arms.

Alain backed away, making that same ragged sound over and over. He backed into a work bench then fell to his knees, and started retching out the contents of his stomach. He cried out, clambered to his feet and went down the stairs.

"Rain-chan?"

"No, leave him." Donovan sounded tired.

Mitsuki picked up Alain's knife, holding it carefully to his chest. 

"Let him work this out. I think, it's best that you go. We'll contact you."

"But." Haruhi touched his elbow. 

"It's best that we retreat, brother."

Forlorn, Mitsuki had no choice but to obey.

*

Winter faded and spring arrived. There was no word from the Glenisles over the next month. 

Every text that he'd sent to Alain was met with silence. 

Haruhi had met a few while he'd visited Malcolm? in the hospital, and then Miles? was also gone. There was no news. There was no Alain.

Mitsuki gave the benchtops a desultory wipe and sighed at his handiwork.

Soon, they would be gone too. Haruhi was in talks with the clan. Though they had not been friends or at all close, Kasumi had been saddened by news of Kaito's death but knew it had been inevitable. Elder Iruko had not been heard from in years and what was left of the clan would welcome the Okabe brothers back. They could go home, Haruhi had explained. They could go home where things would finally make sense.

Mitsuki sighed again. He considered making himself a coffee and dismissed that thought. He considered making himself some tea and also dismissed that. Instead, he took himself out the backdoor, and sat on an upturned milk crate. He did what he normally did when he was alone. He took out Alain's knife and turned it around in his hands. 

The house in South End was always dark when he passed by, and the one time he knocked, no one answered. He had considered climbing up to Alain's room but didn't know what to do with himself if there was actually no one there. He once pushed an actual handwritten letter through the mail slot and still hadn't received a reply. 

Forgotten and heart-broken, he only moped and annoyed Haruhi. He slept with Alain's drawing under his pillow and his knife clutched in his hand. 

He could only think about the fear in Alain's eyes the last time he saw him. The fear in his expression as he backed away from Mitsuki. Mitsuki could not think of what he had done cause Alain to run away like that, to be so afraid that he threw up to just not contact him or return his texts.

Mitsuki sighed heavily and rubbed his face. He propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin in his palm and he twisted the knife around in his hand.

That was how Haruhi found him. While fit and healthy looking, to his eyes Mitsuki wasn't looking after himself. He had neglected the silver dye in his hair and he had gone bronze with dark roots. He moped and lay on his bed and nothing that Haruhi could do could encourage his brother into a happier mood. 

Perhaps he had one last trick up his sleeve.

He kicked the milk crate to get Mitsuki's attention. "I need your help at the counter." 

Mitsuki was silent for a moment, then he stood, sighing.

Seriously, the sighing had to stop.

His brother went back in and Haruhi followed. He had a certain pleasure of watching his brother stop short then run to the register where one of the Gleinisle cousins waited. He thought it was Rowan because of his short stature. "Hey," said possibly Rowan. "Long time no see."

"H-hi," said Mitsuki. 

"Look, sorry we've been out of touch, why don't you swing by later after you've closed up."

"Yes, of course," said Mitsuki. 

"That goes for the both of you," said Rowan, looking at Haruhi.

Haruhi nodded. Rowan lifted his cup in farewell and he was off.

Then Mitsuki fretted. "He didn't say if Rain-chan will be there."

Haruhi covered his face. So much for hope.

They rode their bikes over to the brownstone at South End.

They were greeted by Gilberta. She looked sad but none the worse. "I'm fine," she said when asked about her health. "It's Cassie that we're all worried about. Cassie and Cassidy. Neither of their twins made it. We're just making sure that they heal together."   
Mitsuki remembered Cass's fate all too well. Alain's name was on his tongue again but Gilly spoke again. "I'm sorry, no one's been home. Rowan came to stay with me for a few weeks. I'm just here to see him settled."   
A step up the stairs bouyed Mitsuki's heart but the lanky man that came down was definitely not Alain. He was older for one, and Mitsuki thought that he was either Christian or Kieran, Alain's uncles.   
"Ah, here they are," said the man, grinning. "Sister wanted to speak to you, she'll be down shortly, we've been tidying Alain's room."   
"Aaaaa," said Mitsuki. His tongue had abandoned him.   
Haruhi gave him an annoyed look then turned to Alain's uncle. "He wants to know where Alain is."   
"Oh, didn't we say yet, he's out at the House."   
The brothers looked at him blankly.   
Gilly looked at them then back at the brothers. "He means that Al is at our ancestral home, along with Cass and Cassidy. I haven't been to see them. Donovan is there to keep an eye on things and recover."   
Mitsuki gave her a desperate look.   
"What Gilberta means is that you are invited and welcome to go visit him," said another voice from up the stairs. It was Alice Glenisle, of course. She was dressed in severe white and looked out of place as she carried a dusty cardboard box in her arms. "I swear, Gilberta. I don't know what he keeps in these boxes. There's at least half a dozen under his bed and they're too light to be weapons or ammunitions. I brought one down so that I could have you as back up when I open one."   
Gilly shrugged. "Of course. It can't be Playboys, at least."   
Alice placed the box on the dining table and looked at Haruhi. "What are your plans now, Okabe-san?"   
Haruhi didn't even blink at the formal title. "I had thought that I would return to my clan. It is safe there for my brother and myself."   
Alice nodded, then looked at Mitsuki. "And your plans?"   
"Aaaa," said Mitsuki, sadly. He looked at the floor.    
"I had thought my brother would come with me," said Haruhi.   
"Yes, but I was asking Mitsuki."   
"I... want to see Alain," said Mitsuki, still staring at the floor, ashamed at being so transparent.    
"Of course," said Alice. Gilly hid her smile with her hand and Alain's uncle clapped Mitsuki on the shoulder. "And I think this is yours," she continued. Alice pulled out the brown paper bag from her pocket. It was the same brown paper bag that Mitsuki had snucked into Alain's bedside table.   
Mitsuki blushed bright red as he accepted the bag, stuffing it into his jacket pocket without comment. He ignored Haruhi's question about it and just sat blushing.   
"And you should give him your letter since you are heading that way." Gilly handed over the envelope. She smiled fondly at him.   
"Now Okabe-san," said Alice, turning to Haruhi. "We have reached an arrangement with Matthew."   
Now it was MItsuki's turn to look at his brother.   
"Matthew remains a friend to this family, but his assistance to us is rendered null and void due to his earlier blunder. However, the back and forth of you and your brother's involvement indicates that we owe you a favour."   
Haruhi started. "No thanks is needed, I was involved for my brother's sake."   
"That may be so, but you were still involved. You are welcome to call upon us for a favour. I suggest that you remember that you have one with us."   
Haruhi opened his mouth then bowed from the waist. "I will not forget."   
"Excellent. I won't keep you. You should start now if you wish to reach the House in time for dinner."   
She gave them the address and Gilberta walked them out.   
Mitsuki was vibrating with excitement by the time they reached the warehouse. He went straight to his backpack to pack a spare set of clothing.   
"Brother," said Haruhi. "I had thought that when I returned to the clan, my brother would be with me."   
Mitsuki stopped in his packing. He held his shirt in his hands.    
"Brother, the clan was not the home for me that iiiit as for you."    
Haruhi shook his head.   
"No, I was miserable even before Iruko  started singling me out. You know this. The only time I was happy was when I was away on missions. The clan stopped being my home the moment our parents died."   
Haruhi inhaled deeply and shook his head. "And if there is nothing for you here?"   
Mitsuki's shoulders drooped. "Then I'll travel." He didn't say, Alice didn't give him the bag he'd left behind. That alone gave him hope.   
"Are you coming with me to their house? You wanted to talk to Donovan about Kaito."   
Haruhi's shoulders stiffened then he nodded. He too packed a  bag, then they were off.   
They traveled west out of the city on their bikes, travelling down the highways until they were out in rural Massachusetts. They followed the directions until they found the entrance to the driveway. It was almost sunset when they went down the tree-lined driveway until they reached the House. That was when Mitsuki realised why they called it just that. Donovan was already at the doorway, leaning heavily on his cane and ready to greet them, Mr. Chip, trembling desperately, was at his feet. The cane was new, probably the result of Kaito's assault.

"Welcome," he said as they pulled their helmets off. "This is Glenisle House, and you are welcome."  

Mitsuki could feel it almost immediately, the transition from someplace normal to someplace other. It was subtle but it was very much like the feeling when they had crossed over into Alain's spring field. He dismounted from his bike, hanging his helmet over the handlebars. The air smelled different. It was clean, fresh and pure the way air should be. The grass was greener too, the trees more beautiful in their tree-ish ways. 

There was no Alain around. 

"Come, I'll show you to your room," said Donovan. "Alain will be in for dinner," he added, noticing Mitsuki's disappointment. "He's keeping an eye on Cass and Cassidy."

"So he's here?"

"Yes, he's in the orchard." Donovan pointed somewhere behind the house.

Mitsuki handed his backpack to Haruhi and started walking in the direction Donovan pointed. 

"Be careful! Always make sure that you are welcome before you enter anywhere!"

Mitsuki turned and waved, then continued onwards. It was pleasant walking in the grass near sunset. The orange setting sun tinted world and the new grass kicked up a crisp scent. He passed by little rows of hedges, roses, gardenias, and not a few flowering trees as well. He paused under a sakura and just looked up and felt a longing for home. Not the home that Haruhi wanted him to go back to, but the one that they had as children, where there was a cherry blossom tree outside the room he shared with Haruhi. He fought an impulse to climb this tree. "I'm sorry, I have to go find someone. I'll be back to say hello." Mitsuki felt that it was correct to be polite, and it may have been the right thing to say because he felt better about leaving.

He found the orchard very easily and he needn't have been surprised that it was a pear orchard. He approached until he hit the youngest trees at the outermost edge and felt a resistance. Mitsuki frowned. 

"I want to see Alain," he said. "May I go see him?" 

Again the resistance, but it had softened? Mitsuki walked around the perimeter of the orchard. It was larger than he first expected. He kept repeating his request over and over until he found a spot that felt welcoming. It was the only word he had for it. So he stepped past the first circle of young trees, some of them not even saplings, then walked a few feet past them and found himself beside a tree that was in slightly worse shape than the others around it. The branches weren't as full as flowers and there and been much pruning of this tree to ensure that any dead branches were sawn off. It looked like a tree that had was sick but was now getting better.

That's when it hit Mitsuki that it was Alain's tree. He tugged off his glove and placed a hand on the rough bark. 

"Hi there."

There was a movement up ahead, someone was walking in his direction. They saw him and stopped and when they moved again, it was at a quicker pace until he moved past the thick growth of trees and came into full view.

Mitsuki wanted to cry. It was Alain, it had to be. Despite the still cool weather, he was in shirtsleeves with the tails of his shirt untucked and he was wearing jeans. He wasn't wearing shoes and his hair still needed a cut and style, but Mitsuki didn't care because he looked beautiful. Pigeon was on his shoulder, looking over at him with some interest.

"H-hi," he said. "It's me. I have some things here for you-"

Mitsuki didn't have a chance to say more because Pigeon flew off his shoulder and Alain was rushing at him. Suddenly he was pressed against the rough bark of the tree, Alain kissing him like he was as starving man, his leg pulled up flush against Alain's hip and he could feel the need that tugged at Alain's soul. That was fine because Mitsuki's need was just as urgent, and together the two of them tumbled to the orchard floor, tearing at clothing and stroking and biting at any bared flesh that presented it self. Belts were unfastened and shirts were pushed off. Jeans were shoved away and then there was flesh again, the sweet texture of Alain's skin was open to Mitsuki's hands and they wandered like explorers in a foreign land.

He found Alain's cock, hard and already weeping pre-cum and he gave the shaft a quick stroke. 

Alain groaned, deep and needful. He found Mitsuki's ear and nibbled and bit up and down his neck. 

"I have," Mitsuki gasped. "Lube and condoms."

Alain groaned again, his cock twitching in Mitsuki's hand. 

"You want me?" Mitsuki whispered. "You can have me now but I'll take you so sweetly later. But you take me now and you must pound into me."

Alain was still for a moment then pushed Mitsuki to the ground, lifting his legs over his shoulders. Mitsuki reached for his abandoned jacket and pulled out the brown paper bag from earlier. He tossed the box of condoms at Alain and broke the seal on the new tube of lube to coat his fingers with slick. He grunted as he speared himself with two fingers, hurriedly trying to get loose enough for Alain. While Alain wasn't girthy but he was long and lean like the rest of his body. Alain fumbled with the condom and pulled it on then cried out hoarsely at the sight of Mitsuki fucking himself. He grabbed the tube and smeared more slick over his cock. Mitsuki slipped a third finger in, his face screwing up in the boundary between pain and pleasure. Alain was transfixed as Mitsuki slowly fucked himself, displaying himself for Alain’s voracious gaze.

Not willing to wait any longer, Alain grabbed Mitsuki’s hand and hastily pulled out his fingers. He pressed his cock into Mitsuki's hole, then pushed in to the sound of Mitsuki's encouragement and his daredevil grin. 

It was delicious, delicious pleasure. Mitsuki had been stretched wider but nothing had ever felt like this, like Alain over him, like the want and yearning that he felt that was mirrored in Alain's eyes. Alain paused when he pushed in to the hilt. They were both breathless from anticipation, staring at each other's faces, ravenous from the separation. Then Alain started to move and he couldn't stop.

Mitsuki gave a shout of pure ecstasy, coaxing Alain into passionate fervour and he started pounding into Mitsuki, his hips snapping in rapid tempo. He didn't last long. Mitsuki didn't expect him to at that pace and when he came with a shout, Mitsuki laughed, wrapping his legs around Alain's waist, throwing his head back as Alain groaned, face buried in Mitsuki's neck and he was still rocking into Mitsuki. 

Mitsuki felt raw, still on edge for want of release. He grasped his own cock and stroked, savouring the sensation of Alain in him still, his beautiful Rain-chan. He came with a satisfied groan, spilling over his stomach and splattering over Alain's. They stilled, huffing for air. Everything felt right. Everything felt good. He closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around Alain.

"Haruhi wants us to leave," he said. "He wants us to go back home to the clan."

Alain stilled. 

"I don't want to. If I don't have a reason to stay here, I will travel the world." He let Alain go so he could rise on his elbows. "Do I have a reason to stay here?"

Alain looked distraught. He touched Mitsuki’s face then his own chest. His mouth parted. "Eh," he said. He looked like he was trying to force something out. "Mmmeeehhh," he said again, his eyes desperate to be understood. He screwed his face in frustration and the next time he opened his mouth, nothing came out but the soft hiss of his breath as he tried with all with strength to say something. Anything.

"I will stay for you," said Mitsuki, touching his face. “I will stay for you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh! What a ride! Here I am at the end of this challenge with a whole ass book! I could print this thing out and show it to people I know!
> 
> But I won't because I shy of the sex scenes.
> 
> Anyway, here's this monstrosity, I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading, but watch out for the epilogue! I know, I lied, it's not over, there's going to be an epilogue.
> 
> Note: I wish I could have included some form of what Alain's recovery was like over the month, but this chapter was already 11k. I think I'll touch on it in the epilogue.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings for: mentions of cannibalism

Mitsuki could not for the life of him guess why Haruhi glared at him when they came in for dinner. Twilight had covered the land when they finally picked themselves out of the orchard. Pigeon was cooing happily in Alain's embrace as he leaned affectionately against Mitsuki, his arm draped around Mitsuki's shoulder and he nuzzled into his hair.

Mitsuki was still finding bits of twig and leaf in his clothes and hair, and thought perhaps that was why Haruhi was glaring at him. Everyone else had amused expression, except for Mr. Chip, who just looked desperate. The little white dog stared at Mitsuki and trembled, but Mitsuki figured by now that abject despair was Mr. Chip's default personality. 

"I cannot believe," said Haruhi. "That you are stupid enough to desecrate this family's sacred place. If I had left just now, surely this family will be satisfied with your worthless corpse as recompense." 

Mitsuki stared at Haruhi. He felt the ground gape open beneath his feet. He felt his face grow hot. Alain, on the other hand, didn't seem concerned in the slightest. 

"There's no harm done," said Cassiopeia. It was also the first time that Mitsuki had seen her in a month. She gave them a wan smile. Her eyes were sad and distant. She turned away, not very quickly but perhaps quickly enough that he couldn't see the deep sorrow in her. "Could you spoon out the soup, please, Haruhi?"

Cassidy still had his arm in a sling. His free arm was around the one sibling he still had left. His smile was lighter, but only just. 

"Of course," said Haruhi. 

The table had already been set out and Donovan sat at the head, Haruhi at the foot and Cassie and Cassidy to the one side, leaving one whole side for Mitsuki and Alain to cosy up at.

Mitsuki looked at his hands and tugged at Alain to the sink so that they could wash up. His face was still burning.

Then he remembered. 

"Oh shit," he said, whispering into Alain's ear. "Your mother gave me that paper bag! It was opened! She knew what was in it! She's going to put a hit on me for sure!"

Alain only laughed in his silent way and breathed in the scent of Mitsuki's hair. 

They washed up and joined the rest at the table. Soup was served, a smooth cauliflower soup with cream on the side. Next was salad, and pasta in seafood white sauce and desert was vanilla ice cream, macadamia nuts and a white chocolate drizzle.

Mitsuki exchanged glances with Haruhi.

"I'm sorry," said Donovan. "But Alain has a few strict dietary needs."

"No red meat," said Cassie. 

"No pork," said Cassidy.

"And definitely nothing that looked liked it had lungs to breath with."

Alain played with the remains of his desert.

"Dinner was delicious," said Mitsuki.

"Indeed."

*

That night, when it was just Mitsuki and Alain in his room, they lay tangled on Alain's bed. They were still clothed, just enjoying the closeness of each other after weeks of separation.

"I sent you so many texts," said Mitsuki. "I even wrote a letter."

Alain freed his arm from under Mitsuki with regret and reached for a book, a journal that Mitsuki hadn't seen before. Mitsuki leaned away to turn on the lamp before moving back to snuggle against Alain. 

_ Left my phone somewhere,  _ wrote Alain.  _ Forgot where. Maybe Donovan's house _ .

"Ahh," said Mitsuki. He still couldn't help but feel a little neglected. 

_ I wrote you letters too,  _ Alain continued.  _ Almost everyday. Donovan gave me this journal. I think he got tired of my restlessness.  _

Alain then flipped through the earlier pages. From the brief glances Mitsuki could see that the pages were full of writing. Alain found the entry that he was looking for then handed the book to Mitsuki. The going was slow. He wasn't that apt at reading cursive and Alain's writing had a lot of sharp points and angles with very small looping.

_ Dear Mitsuki, _ he read. 

_ I wish you could read this. I want you to understand that I didn't recoil from you because of anything that you did. I recoiled because of the horrors my twin showed me. He warped the memories I had of you and in the vision, I had turned into the devourer my father wanted me to be. In my vision, I had hurt you until you had broken. I had hurt you with my knife. I ate pieces of you. I didn't want to hurt you. I was ill at the thought.  _

_ I miss you a great deal. I wish you were here. It's always nice here, at the house. The weather is warming slowly and there's grass poking out through the snow. I think I'll plant squash and pumpkins if I can. More vegetables perhaps.  _

_ I am become vegetarian these days. I cannot stomach the texture of meat in my mouth. Even edible plant matter like sliced mushrooms gave me terrible flashbacks. They looked like human lips. Another time I bit down on a grape and dry retched for half an hour.   _

_ Donovan told me that even if I cannot talk, I should write about my feelings. I think it helps. I wish I could talk to you.  _

_ Love, Alain. _

There was more writing on the next page and the page after but Mitsuki gave the journal back to Alain. He hadn't been given permission to read the other letters. He leaned up and pressed a kiss on Alain's temple. 

"I missed you a lot too," said Mitsuki. There was silence and there were questions that he wanted to ask but now wasn't the time and because both Mitsuki and nature abhorred a vacuum, he said, "Do you want to help me finish that tube of lube?"

Alain laughed and rolled on to his back. Their lovemaking was much slower than on the orchard floor. Mitsuki took his time and wrung gasps and groans from Alain's mouth, making Alain leak a steady flow of pre-cum until he came untouched. Then, Mitsuki still took his time as he gently fucked into Alain, savouring every twitch Alain's long body made.

*

The sun was peeking through the curtains when a slight movement woke Mitsuki. He opened his eyes, and found it was Alain pulling on his clothes. 

"Mrrhhh," said Mitsuki, eloquently.

Alain bent over to press a kiss to his cheek and tapped his journal on the bedside closest to Mitsuki. It was already open and placed face down to keep place. Mitsuki made another eloquent sound and went back to sleep when Alain closed the door softly behind him. He woke up again to an impatient rap on the door and Haruhi's irritated voice coming in through the wood. 

"Mitsuki, you are late for breakfast." Ah, one of the most deadly of sins according to Haruhi. Mitsuki sat up and yawned. 

"I am up," he said, scratching his chest. He heard Haruhi moving away and he got up and dug out his change of clothes from his bag. 

Mitsuki frowned. He thought he packed two shirts. He shrugged. He had been in a hurry. He dressed and then popped into the bathroom in the hallway to clean up before heading down the stairs.

He could smell cooking pancakes even before he entered the kitchen. There he found Donovan at the stove, Haruhi at his elbow. The two of them were frowning at each other and Mitsuki sighed inwardly. Haruhi was off to his old tricks of making friends again. 

"Oyaho," he called out. "Breakfast smells good, sensei." Donovan had that sort of aura, of an old teacher. Besides, it was as good as an address as anything else. 

Donovan turned, smiling suddenly. "Mitsuki, please take a seat. I am almost finished here."

Mitsuki raised his brows. "We are not waiting for Alain?"

"Alain will come in with Cassiopeia and Cassidy. They will come in when they are ready." There was a weariness in the old man's voice, tones of sadness and grief. "Will you gentlemen be staying with us for long? You are very much welcome."

Mitsuki felt a slight weight against his knee and he looked down. Mr. Chip was under the table, looking up at him with large watery eyes, his little body ever trembling. Mitsuki reached down and scratched the little dog on the head. He received a tremulous lick in turn.

"I have only packed for two days," said Haruhi. "And we need to return to open the cafe tomorrow." He looked at Mitsuki, and frowned.

"Brother, I think I will stay."

Haruhi's face darkened with anger. 

"You are both welcome to stay," said Donovan. "I can have Rowan stick a sign on your door. Would that do? There's spare clothing here. Surely there will be something that fits."

Haruhi looked barely mollified.

"And," said Donovan with a sigh. "I will tell you about my relation with your family."

That, it seemed, was all that was required. Haruhi nodded. "I will be happy to extend my stay."

Donovan turned his head slightly and gave Mitsuki a wink. "Good. We are happy to host the sons of clan Okabe at our House."

*

Gilberta opened the front door, nervous anticipation rumbling through her stomach. 

"Hi," she said, her lips curling upwards shyly.

Manissha was on the doorstep, looking equally nervous. "Hi," she replied. 

They stared at each other.

"Oh, would you like to come in?" asked Gilberta. She was already stepping back from the door.

"Yes, please," said Manissha, stepping through and pulling off her soft pashmina wrap.

"A drink before dinner? Coffee? Wine? Soda? I have iced tea, I think." Gilberta definitely had iced tea. She made it herself earlier that day.

"That sounds lovely," said Manissha. She followed Gilberta through to the kitchen where she leaned her hip against the bench as Gilly poured out two tall glasses. She grabbed the filled glasses. "Where shall we sit?"

"Let's go to the living room."

This was the first time that Manissha had been to Gilberta's apartment. It wasn't far from the brownstone at South End but it was definitely far enough to establish her own space. It was clear that she preferred a warm decorating style that was a little farmhouse and a little mid-century modern. There were baskets for cosy throws, pillows with this season's colours against a neutral sofa and plush carpets over modern bamboo. Manissha settled herself on the sofa, setting the glasses on top of metal coasters on the coffee table and Gilberta set down her own jug.  

"I'm so glad you called," said Gilberta. "I thought I would never hear from you again." She blushed. "It must all seem so frightening to you."

Manissha laughed, somewhat nervously. "Yes, it really is." She picked up her glass and held it in both hands. "Your family is strange, but nice. You're nice. And you've not dated any of my ex's. I thought I would give it another chance."

Gilly chuckled wryly. "I've not dated much. I'm very oblivious."

They smiled at each other and sipped their drinks.

"Oh, how is your cousin, the one that was..." Manissha lifted her hand and made wide circular gestures.

Gilly shook her head. "She's recovered but she lost two brothers that day. We're not confident she'll bounce back."

"I'm sorry. But it's only been a month? She does need time to grief." Manissha then flung a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It's not my place, surely."

"No, it's fine. It's actually a relief to talk to someone who hasn't taken Cassie as a foregone conclusion." Gilly stopped and blinked rapidly. Manissha found a tissue and gave it to her. "I'm sorry," said Gilly, dabbing at her eyes. "I'm sure she's fine. Alain is keeping an eye on her. Remember Alain?"

"The scary young man who doesn’t talk? The one with the guns and the pigeon? He is not easy to forget."

Gilly laughed. "Would you believe he's less scary now then he used to be? Oh, we should go..." She gave Manissha a hesitant look. "That is, if you still want to go out to dinner with me."

"Of course! We'll talk about less sad things. Like how my family disowned me for preferring women." Manissha beamed brightly.

"Oh no," said Gilly. 

"No, no, it's a funny story. I'll tell you about it on the way down." She stood and held her hand out to Gilly. Gilly took it and stood. She was much taller than Manissha and Manissha found that she liked the view very much.

*

"Donovan! How are you? How are the boys?"

"Alice," came her uncle's voice through the phone. "The boy had discovered he's demisexual."

Alice made an interested sound.

"Alice, they won't stop fucking."

"Donovan, language," she said, mildly.

"Alice, I've caught them in the kitchen. I've had to chase them out of the butler's pantry with a broom."

"My goodness. I'm very sorry."

"Alice, you have to come take them away. I'm almost eighty. I had to sanitise the whole kitchen. I can't keep doing this."

"I'm sorry, Donovan, you're breaking up."

Head nestled in her lap, Christian grinned and started rustling paper near the phone's mouthpiece.

"It must be this tunnel I'm entering. I'll call you later."

"Alice, don't do this to me-"

Alice hung up. She leaned back against the sofa back, a pleased smile playing on her lips.

"Do you think the boys will want a gold, white and black theme?"

Kieran closed the book he was reading with a snap. "Alice,  please. It's a wedding not a New Year's celebration. Alain will want a silver and blue theme."

"Tsk. And you know the boy's preferences so well?" asked Christian, his twin. 

"No, no, I really do think that my idea has merit," said Alice.

And so it went on.

*

_ Dear Mitsuki _

_ I think writing to you is helping. _

_ I can slowly process through the impulse that makes me want to stab you. My twin placed those thoughts in my head during the fight in Donovan's lab. He wished us to be more like each other.  _

_ The shadowman, the obsidian man, my twin.  _

_ I have many names for the creature who wanted to be my father's son so desperately. _

_ I don’t know how he was formed or where he came from but I know this. I understand him. _

_ I miss my father. _

_ You're the first person I've told, but I really miss Father. I suspect Mother knows. She knows a lot of what goes on in my head. _

_ Father was cold but he was always willing to share his knowledge and guidance with me. _

_ He never quite understood why I was born. He thought I was meant to be his heir and he trained me as such. I would have liked that. Some part of me would have liked to have played prince to his kingship.  _

_ Don't blame Matt. He didn't cause my breakdown. I think I needed to say goodbye to Father. I barely remember that night. I remember touching the cooling flesh of his face. I remember blood. I remember screaming. _

The letter ended abruptly with the pen skidding across the page. 

Mitsuki stood from his reading spot under the cherry tree and wandered off to find Alain. He trusted his gut to lead him, but mostly, he also trusted Mr. Chip to lead the way. The little white dog was strangely taken with him, but if Mr. Chip was what Alain said he was, then Mitsuki didn't it was his charm that made the little dog stick by his side. He suspected that if he were chatting with Donovan, then Mr. Chip would be following Haruhi instead. 

He heard Donovan talking before the old man noticed that he was nearby. Mitsuki walked with a feather's lightness as second nature and he suspected that he was more than a match for an old man's ears.

"Just consider it, boy," said Donovan. He and his unknown companion were behind a large, leafy hedge. "You would both be securing Gilberta's place and raising her stature. A high ranking child will give her word weight. You need that protection just in case Cassiopeia doesn't recover."

There was no answer that Mitsuki could hear, which only cemented that it was Alain whom Donovan was talking to. 

"It will have to come from you, though. Just consider it. Oh, it's Mr. Chip. How are you, my fine chap?"

Mitsuki rounded the corner before the little dog could give him away. 

"Eehhhh, there you are." He grinned disarmingly at Alain and his uncle. Donovan had bent to lift the small dog up in his arms and smiled in welcome but Alain barely spared him a glance. He just stuck his hands in his pockets and went to look out over the orchard. 

Donovan looked at his nephew, the corner of his mouth turned down in an exasperated frown. "Why don't the two of you spend the afternoon together," he suggested, turning to Mitsuki. "I'll look out for Cassie and Cassidy." Alain didn't answer but Mitsuki tossed a jaunty salute. 

"Hai, thank you. We'll find a way to occupy ourselves."

The old man snorted and left them be. Mitsuki went and sat beside Alain on the grass and Alain leant towards him, resting his head on Mitsuki's shoulder. There was a sadness about him, a true sadness and not one of his depressive episodes. Mitsuki wrapped his arm around Alain's shoulders and held him. Pigeon even looked up from where he was pecking at grass and flew to land on Alain's shoulder. 

Mitsuki had questions. It was not in his nature to hold his tongue. It was not in his nature to trust blindly. He was pretty sure he had Alain figured out, but despite how nice they were, Mitsuki had his misgivings about the rest of the family, not the least of them the old wizard Donovan. 

He would have liked to discuss his thoughts with Alain, discuss what he read in the journal, to talk about Haruhi's plans. Instead he let his own head rest against Alain's, his beautiful Rain-chan.

"So!" he said softly. "We think that crazy Kaito was right about one thing. He was Donovan's grandson."

Alain stirred at that. 

Mitsuki continued. "Donovan-sensei was travelling his father's country when he met Kaito's grandmother. I didn't even know that Kaito's mother was part American. There were no rumours at all. Donovan-sensei said he suspected that Namiko-san was with child when they parted but he never pressed because he was never invited to be it's parent. He was very surprised when Haruhi told him that Kaito's mother had a twin brother, who had one daughter. I think you'll like Kasumi. She likes me best." Mitsuki winked. He was rewarded by a soft breathy chuckle. He pressed a kiss into Alain's soft hair and enjoyed the silence for a moment.

"Is that a custom in your family?" he said, starting the conversation again. "Men need to be invited into parenthood."

Alain nodded. 

"That explains a lot, I guess. So that's what Donovan-sensei was talking about when I arrived, yeah? It's just like a donation to Gilly-san? You don't need to move in with her?"

Alain nodded, shrugged and waggled his hand from side to side.

"Do you think you'll do it?"

Alain sighed and shrugged.

"Do I have to go away while you do that?"

Mitsuki felt his heart soar when Alain gave a definitive shake of the head. Alain then reached for his journal.

_ You won't be left out _ . Alain wrote. _ I promise _ . 

"That's very enigmatic, but I'll take it for now.

_ I can always refuse the offer to co-parent. I probably would unless there's no one else to help Gilly. _

Mitsuki nodded.

_ I am also not fit. _

Mitsuki said a very rude phrase in Japanese. 

Alain gave him a level look. 

Mitsuki jutted his lip petulantly. 

"Okay. Maybe you are not fit on some days." 

Alain rolled his eyes but there was the hint of a pleased smile on his face. Mitsuki pulled him back to cradle his head against his shoulder. 

Things were weird, but Alain was his and they could do this.

They'll be fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're finally done!
> 
> I want to say that this is my first complete original novel but we all know where Mitsuki and Haruhi come from ;)
> 
> But I will take it as a "close enough".
> 
> I have a sequel planned, but I'll write that in April. I want to see how my output compares in a colder month than the warm month of November. 
> 
> My thanks to all of you who have read and enjoyed. I apologise greatly for it's unbeta'd state. I feel that this and the sequel (staring Haruhi, Matt and a whole bunch of ninjas) will still sit in my bucket labled "practice writing". 
> 
> And before I forget, the line in Chapter 10? About ketchup, chips and lube? A good friend said that aloud in chat. :3 If you're reading this, Hands, thank you for your love of ketchup.
> 
> See y'all in other stories.


End file.
